


Heartlines

by Soccer_Bitch



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-19
Updated: 2017-03-05
Packaged: 2018-06-09 09:22:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 29,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6900274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Soccer_Bitch/pseuds/Soccer_Bitch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She grew up without a father in her life, but after her mother passes away and she learns who her father is will she want him to be apart of her life? And what will happen when she finds out that her boyfriend of three years has been lying to her for as long as they have been together? Hawkeye/OC</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I have this posted somewhere else, but I thought I would slowly post it over here as well. :)

_Tony,_  
  
_If you are reading this, that means my time is ending or that I’m dead. It was never my intention to take this road, but life throws you the curveballs that no one ever sees coming._  
  
_That summer we spent together was incredible, but I lied to you. I didn’t leave because my sister was hurt. I left because I was pregnant. There were times that I wanted to tell you this, but every time I tried to get a hold of you it seemed that you weren’t interested in talking to your summer fling. After four years of trying I stopped trying. It wasn’t because I didn’t want you to know your child, but I was trying to save the heartache; mine and hers._  
  
_Yes, hers._  
  
_You have a daughter. Her name is Emma Winters. She is a beautiful girl and so smart. She has been at the top of her classes throughout her whole life. I believe that she gets that from you. I was never as smart as either of you._  
  
_Emma graduated college early and she works in New York City. Ever since she was a little girl she knew that she wanted to go into medicine and that is what she did. I am so proud of her for becoming a trauma nurse in the emergency room._  
  
_We all saw what happened in New York with the aliens and I know that you are Iron Man, but I think that you should think about meeting your daughter. The advice I can give you is that you should probably take your friends with you otherwise you might not even get her to talk to you._  
  
_She does know that you are her father, but only recently did she learn about it. Her birth certificate has no name in the box for her father. I didn’t want to take the chance that someone at the hospital would leak the information to the press._  
  
_All of the things I have done was to keep her safe and happy. She had a happy childhood and I do believe that she has been dating the same man for over a year now. I just hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me for keeping the two of you apart._  
  
_Good luck Tony. You will need it._  
  
_With Love,_  
  
_Mary Winters_  
  
Tony Stark read the letter over and over again. He was having a hard time believing that he had a grown daughter in New York. He remembered Mary Winters and he even looked her up, but she had died two months ago so there was no chance of seeing her or even talking to her about it.  
  
Pulling up a picture of Emma Winters, he had to admit she was a beautiful woman. She had his father’s eyes. Actually if he was completely honest, he would come out and say it. Emma Winters was all Stark. From the smarts to the dark beauty she possessed.  
  
“Have you decided to go and see her yet?”  
  
Turning around, Tony looked over and saw his girlfriend Pepper Potts walking towards him in a summer dress and heels. What he failed to see was that Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff were right behind her. They looked at the display that had pictures of the same woman, but at different parts of her life. The last one she was dressed up in a beautiful gown at a function for all major hospitals in New York City. The reason he knew was because the Avengers had been invited to it this year and for the past three years Tony had been invited, but he never did go. This year would be different, he was  going to go and he was going to meet his daughter.  
  
“The hospitals of New York are throwing the charity event. I plan to see her there.”  
  
“Don’t you think it should be in more of a private setting?” Pepper asked as she came and sat next to him on the couch. Natasha and Steve picking seats in the living area, but not as close as Pepper had.  
  
“If she is anything like Mary,” Tony started as he raised the glass or bourbon and took a long swallow before looking at the picture of the woman again. “If she is anything like Mary she won’t talk to me in a private setting. So I figured a few of the Avengers could make an appearance at this charity and I will get to see her.”  
  
“If she shows up.”  
  
Tony looked at Natasha before taking another drink. “According to the one running the charity, she always shows up. Not sure how long she’ll stay, but she should be there for a bit. That is when I will get to know her. I’ll buy her a drink. Women like that kind of thing, right?”  
  
“She isn’t some floozy,” Steve Rogers said as he looked at Tony. “She’s a dame and not just any dame. She’s a beautiful dame.”  
  
“That,” Tony said pointing to the picture that they were all able to see. “Is my daughter.”  
  
“You have a daughter?” Natasha questioned him.  
  
“Found out last week.” Tony said.  
  
“And he’s been drunk ever since.” Pepper told the two Avengers.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Emma pushed the door to her apartment open and got through the door with her arms full of groceries. Another day another life still living. That was what she was paid to do. Ever since she was a teenager and had gotten into a bad accident, she knew what she wanted to become when she was older. The nurses in the ER had been amazing and although she had been terrified of what would happen, they were able to calm her down. That was the moment she realized how important the job of a nurse could be. An ER, no matter where it was would always be hectic and would need nurses that could think on their feet and that was exactly something she could do.  
  
It felt years ago that she had started working as a trauma nurse in the emergency room in one of the busiest hospitals that New York City had. But Emma loved every exhausting minute of it. Closing the front door with her foot, she smiled in surprise as her boyfriend of three years got off the couch where he had been sleeping to take one of the heavier bags from her arms.  
  
Before she could say anything, he leaned down and kissed her gently upon the lips. And then she kissed him before walking into the kitchen. “I wasn’t expecting you until Thursday.”  
  
“Yeah,” he said walking behind her and placing the paper bag on the counter before jumping up and sitting next to the bag as she took out the things she bought and put them away. “We actually finished a few days early but we couldn’t get out since there was no plane waiting for us.”  
  
“How long are you back for?” Emma asked him.  
  
“A week.”  
  
“Is that an actual week or a few days and then they call you in again because they think you’ve been off long enough?”  
  
“An actual week,” he said with a laugh. “But I gotta ask you something.”  
  
“Okay,” she said as she put the boxes of cereal away. “Because there is something I need to talk to you about as well.”  
  
“Do we really have to go to that gala?” he asked. “I was hoping this year you could skip it and we could spend the whole weekend in bed.”  
  
“As much as I love the sound of that,” Emma said as she grabbed the apples and put them in the fridge along with more fresh fruit. “This year no one is allowed to miss it. Apparently there will be more celebrities. Some of the Avengers might be going as well. No one can confirm or deny it and it would be an insult if everyone didn’t show up.”  
  
Her boyfriend stiffened at the mention of the Avengers. The heroes that had saved New York from an alien invasion. “Did they say which Avengers will be there?”  
  
“Why?” Emma asked looking at him with a smile upon her face that reached all the way to her eyes. “Nervous that I’ll leave you for someone like Captain America?”  
  
“Ha!” he said catching her between his legs and bringing her closer to him. Unwrapping his legs from around her, he slid off the counter and placed his  arms around her. “Like he could ever satisfy you the way I can.”  
  
“Cocky much?”  
  
“Confident.”  
  
Laughing, Emma wrapped her arms around his neck. “I guess I’m glad that you ran into me again after that one night.”  
  
“You mean the one where you snuck out of the hotel room?”  
  
“I didn’t know what to do,” Emma said leaning her head against his chest. “It was my first one night stand and I didn’t want to chance you kicking me out so I left before you could.”  
  
“I wouldn’t have kicked you out.”  
  
“You should have seen my bed head,” Emma said with a laugh as she walked out of his arms and went into the bedroom. “So I found out some information from my mom’s lawyer today.”  
  
“Something happen to the will?” he asked following her into the bedroom. He laid down on the bed as she took off her shoes before taking her scrubs off, leaving her in a white tank top that she wore under her hospital scrubs.  
  
“Nothing like that,” she said running her hand through her dark hair. “Mom mentioned that she knew who my father was before she died. She called him Tony. Apparently she told him in confidence who he really was. I thought she was joking about who he was, but now I don’t think she was.”  
  
“Tony who?”  
  
“Stark. Tony Stark.”  
  
Emma watched as her boyfriend of three years didn’t look as surprised as she was. It almost looked like he knew the information already, but that just wasn’t possible since she had just found out and was barely adjusting to the news. She was the child of Tony Stark of Stark Industries.  
  
“I’m going to take a shower,” Emma said with a sigh as she looked at him. “If you feel inclined you can make dinner or order something?”  
  
Nodding his head, he watched as Emma walked into the bathroom and shut the door. That always meant that she did not want his company in the shower. He could understand that right now. How was he supposed to tell her that he knew her father? If he did that then his cover would be blown. That would be his own fault though. When  he had first started to pursue her, it was out of curiosity. It was just a rumor that she might be the daughter of Tony Stark, but then it blossomed into something more. He wasn’t even supposed to sleep with her that first night, but there was something about Emma Winters that drew him in.  
  
Once he found her again, he knew that there was no way he could let her go. That had been three years ago now. A year ago since the attack on New York. And he had lied to her about where he was during that time and what it was that he did for a living. Emma was an amazing woman and he loved her.  
  
Using his right hand he took out the ring box that was in jacket pocket. Opening that blue box that was known by just about every woman around the world, he looked down at the princess cut diamond on the platinum band with diamonds. He never meant to fall so in love with Emma that he would buy a ring that she could proudly show to her friends and co-workers. The one thing he knew was that he wanted to marry her and spend the rest of his life making her happy. It was the one thing she deserved, more than anything. After watching her go through all the motions as she watched her only family member die. It was hard watching from the side and knowing that there was nothing he could do to ease the pain.  
  
Hearing the water in the shower turn off, he closed the box, but didn’t put it back into his pocket. Instead he set it on the bed, on top of the dark blue comforter that covered the King sized bed that hadn’t been slept in for a few days. He knew that sometimes she crashed at the hospital when he wasn’t in town. Leaving the bedroom, he walked into the living room where he left his cell phone and called the Italian food place that they liked to eat at. After ending his phone call with the delivery food order, he sat down on the couch and just waited.  
  
After getting out of the shower, Emma had wrapped a towel around her hair as she dressed into a pair of black capri sweats and a sports bra with a simple yellow tank top. Once she was dressed she opened the door to the bathroom half expecting to see her boyfriend still on the bed, but he wasn’t. She could actually hear him on the phone placing their orders for dinner. It made her smile at how much he was ordering, he tended to order more than they could eat so that there was leftovers so he didn’t have to actually cook anything.  
  
Picking up her hairbrush off the vanity, she started brushing the wet mess when she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. Turning on her heel, Emma saw the light blue box on the bed and looked towards the bedroom door that led to the living room where her boyfriend was probably watching TV or looking for a movie to watch. Moving towards the small box, she sucked in her breath as she held it in her hand. Part of her wanted this to be a ring, but another part figured it wasn’t. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and opened the box. When she opened her eyes to see what it was, she dropped her hairbrush, letting it clatter to the hardwood floor.  
  
Looking at the ring that sat cushioned in the box, Emma couldn’t hide the shock on her face even if she tried. This was not what she expected right now. Part of her believed that she would never get married, just like her mother.  
  
“Do you like it?”  
  
Spinning around, Emma looked at him with tears in her eyes. Unable to form any words he walked into the bedroom and took the ring from the box and took her hand.  
  
“Emma Winters, I’ve had the greatest pleasure having you as my girl for these past three years and I want to ask you something very important to me,” he said as he dropped to one knee and she couldn’t keep the tears from spilling out of her eyes. “Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”  
  
Nodding her head, she let him place the ring on her left hand. When he stood up, she smiled at him and placed her hands on the sides of his face before kissing him. This was the man that she loved with her whole heart.  
  
“I love you Clint Barton.”  
  
  



	2. Chapter 2

__

 

With her curls in place and her make-up on, Emma walked across the bedroom where her dress was hanging with the garment bag behind it. The deep crimson red color looked good with her skin tone, at least that was what her mother always told her. This dress color had nothing to do with Iron Man, but instead it was about her mother. She loved the color and so when Emma had gone shopping for a dress for the gala and had stumbled upon the dress in her size, she knew it had to be a sign.  
  
Slipping on the dress, she did a little twirl before standing in front of the floor length mirror. Looking at her the plunging halter neckline, Emma ran her hands over the gold beading and smiled. Gasping in shock at the contact, Emma watched as Clint placed her favorite necklace around her neck for her. Smiling in the mirror, he pushed some of her thick curls aside and placed a soft kiss on the side of her neck.  
  
“You are a little early aren’t you?” Emma asked as she felt his arms wrap around her waist and pull her back into him. “Or am I running behind?”  
  
“I came early,” Clint told her. “I wanted to talk to you about tonight before got there.”  
  
“I promise just a few hours and then we are so out of there and did forget to tell you I have the next three days off? I had too much overtime according to my boss.”  
  
“I’ll have to find your boss tonight and thank him.”  
  
“You would,” Emma laughed as she spun around in his arms. “Can you get my coat from the rack by the front door? The black one? I just need to put my heels on and then we can go.”  
  
Leaning down, he kissed her lips before she could stop him from messing up her make-up and when he let her go, she saw the grin upon his face. “You are lucky that I love you Clint Barton.”  
  
“Don’t I know it?” he called back to her as he walked out of the bedroom causing her to laugh once again.   
  
Walking into the bathroom, Emma grabbed her lipstick and reapplied it before walking back into the bedroom and put it inside her clutch. Moving towards the side of the bed that Clint usually slept on, she found her black peep toe pumps. They were her favorite shoes to wear when she was forced to dress up for special events. Although she was on her feet most of the day, she didn’t mind wearing the pumps. Slipping them onto her feet, she walked in front of the mirror one last time. With a satisfied smile, she brushed some of her hair behind her ear before leaving the bedroom.  
  
Seeing Clint with her coat over his arm and in his suit, Emma grinned. She knew that she had to be the luckiest girl alive. She was doing something she loved with her life, but she was also going to get married. Something she thought would never happen to her. Maybe it was partly because her mother was watching out for her from above.  
  
“The limo just pulled up,” Clint told her as she walked towards him and he held her coat open for her to slip into. “Are you nervous?”  
  
“Nervous?” Emma questioned him. “About what?”  
  
“Being in a room filled with superheroes? Meeting Tony Stark for the first time and knowing that he happens to be your father?”  
  
Emma glared at him before opening the door to the apartment. “Not helpful.”  
  
With the apartment locked up and the keys in her clutch, Emma and Clint were headed to the main floor where there was a limousine waiting for them. It was one of the perks of being one of the best trauma nurses in the emergency room. At least the ride would give here time to think about what was going to happen tonight. She would see some of the people she worked with and some of the other doctors and nurses at other hospitals. What really had her mind reeling was the fact that there was a good chance that she was going to meet her father for the first time in her life. If anyone else was in her position it might not be as frightening, but when she was younger all she wanted for so long was to meet her father, who ever he was. And now she knew who he was and it made her nervous.  
  
The drive seemed to go by in a flash because before she knew it the limo had pulled up in front of the hotel where the gala was to take place. Every year it was a different place, that was something she never really understood but she wasn’t paying for it so she didn’t have to worry about it. Giving Clint a smile he waited for the door to open before getting out. Taking a deep breath, Emma made sure she had her stuff before taking the hand that she was sure belonged to Clint allowing him to help her out of the limo.  
  
Putting a smile on her face, Emma laced her fingers with Clint’s as they made their way inside. Unbuttoning her coat, she gave it to Clint who went to check hers and his in. Making her way inside, she stopped at the top of the stairs. Looking towards the bar, that is where she saw him with a drink in his hand and a tall blonde woman next to him. Holding onto the railing, she slowly made her way to the main floor.  
  
“Emma, how are you?”  
  
Smiling at her co-worker Kelly, Emma nodded her head. “I came didn’t I?”  
  
“Yeah, I know,” Kelly said as she let out a small laugh. “You’d rather spend some time alone with that boyfriend of yours.”  
  
“Actually,” Emma smiled lifting her hand to show off the new engagement ring. “He asked me to marry him.”  
  
“Oh my,” Kelly said in awe as she looked at the ring. “That is a damn fine ring.”  
  
“It was a total surprise.” Emma admitted with a genuine smile on her face. “The best kind.”  
  
“I better receive an invite to the wedding,” Kelly smiled. “I’ll be sure to send you my address in Washington D.C.”  
  
“Don’t worry about that just yet,” Emma laughed. “We haven’t talked about anything to do with a wedding. I don’t know when he has to leave again so we will see.”  
  
“Actually I’m glad that I caught you,” Kelly said. “I want you to meet someone.”  
  
“Oh? And who is this someone?” Emma asked curiously as she looked around and to her surprise she couldn’t see where Tony Stark or the blonde he had been with had gone. “Someone I have met but don’t remember?”  
  
“I don’t know if you have or not,” Kelly laughed as she grabbed Emma’s hand and they made their way through the crowded floor. “Just remember that you are a taken woman and leave the single ones to the other singles.”  
  
Half a minute later, Emma was standing in front of two men and she knew exactly who they were. “Gentlemen, this is Emma Winters. The best trauma nurse in any emergency room of any hospital in New York City.”  
  
Letting out a small laugh, Emma fought the urge to roll her eyes at her friend. Looking from the blonde man to the dark haired man in glasses, Emma gave them a smile and just shook her head. “I wouldn’t go that far, but I do enjoy my work.”  
  
“I’m Steve,” the blonde said sticking out his hand to shake Emma’s. “Steve Rogers. And his is Doctor Bruce Banner.”  
  
“Emma Winters. It’s a pleasure to meet the both of you.”  
  
“Especially after all you have done for New York City. We all owe you a debt that can never be paid.” Kelly said.  
  
“It wasn’t-”  
  
“Kelly can you get me a drink since my date is still checking our coats in?” Emma asked her friend.  
  
“Sure,” Kelly smiled as the two Avengers standing with her friend. “I’ll be back soon.”  
  
Once Emma was sure her friend was out of hearing range, she looked back at the two embarrassed superheroes. “I should apologize for her and probably a lot of people here tonight. You all have been the talk since it was confirmed that you would be coming tonight.”  
  
“We were honored to be asked.” Steve said.  
  
“I’m hoping that you feel that way towards the end of the night.”  
  
Letting out a laugh first was Doctor Banner. “Is there a way to escape early?”  
  
“Of course,” Emma laughed. “I do it every year.”  
  
“You don’t enjoy these things?” Bruce asked her.  
  
“I really don’t,” Emma confessed. “Every year I make the rounds, make sure I am seen by my boss and then I sneak out. Three hours here and I wish for the emergency room.”  
  
“That bad?” Steve asked.  
  
“For me,” Emma confessed. “Each year, a different place, but the same stuff.”  
  
“Now I get why you would want to escape.”  
  
 _“I hope I’m not interrupting.”_  
  
Turning around, Emma smiled at the blonde haired man. “Not at all. Took your time at the coat check.”  
  
“Your boss cornered me asking me to make sure you stay away from the hospital for the full three days off.”  
  
Rolling her eyes, she laughed a little bit before he leaned down to kiss her softly. Turning to the two other men he nodded in their direction. “Captain. Banner.”  
  
“You know each other?” Emma asked confused.  
  
“Uh, yeah,” Clint said letting out a shaky laugh. “We know each other.”  
  
Confusion crossed over Emma’s face. Not once had he ever mentioned knowing one or even two of the Avengers to her. Did he know just these two or did he know them all? If he did know them all, did that mean, he knew Tony Stark as well? Clint was not acting like his normal confident self and it was throwing Emma off. Taking a deep breath, she released it and looked at his guilty face and she knew that things were not what they seemed.  
  
“How do you know them, Clint?” Emma asked as she felt him slip his hand into hers and lace their fingers together before giving her hand a firm squeeze. She knew that he wanted her to drop the subject, but she couldn’t, not now. Looking at Steve and then Bruce they had looks upon their faces that said much more than words ever could. “So you know them and who else? Do you know-”  
  
“Me? He knows me too.”  
  
Emma’s whole body went stiff as she heard the voice of Tony Stark come from the other side of her. There he was. The man that her mother loved every day since she met him and the man that was her father. And next to him was the beautiful blonde that had been standing with him at the bar when she first got to the hotel.  
  
“Stark-”  
  
“Have you guys met my daughter?” Tony asked Steve and Bruce. Emma closed her eyes to keep the tears that were forming in her eyes. She would not cry. Not here, not now. “I didn’t know that she was my daughter until recently. How do you know my daughter Katniss?”  
  
Emma turned and looked at Clint who didn’t look pleased that Tony Stark had come over to where his daughter was talking to a few of the Avengers.  
  
“Hi, I’m Pepper Potts,” the blonde said reaching around Tony as he took another drink from his almost empty glass. “It is nice to finally meet you. Tony has-”  
  
Slipping her hand out of Clint’s, she shook her head. “I’m sorry, I can’t do this.”  
  
Without another word or a glance back, Emma made her way across the room and towards the bathrooms. What she didn’t know was that someone from across the room had been watching her since she arrived. But before the person could say anything to her, she was surrounded by people.  
  
Emma made her way to the bathroom and was glad that she was alone. When Tony had joined them and just blurted out that she was his daughter, she felt like she could burst into tears at any given second. That was not how she saw meeting herself meeting him for the first time. If she was honest, she didn’t see it happening tonight. This was a work thing and she didn’t even want to be here, but she was because it was mandatory.   
  
Hearing the bathroom door open, Emma didn’t even look up figuring it was someone that had to use the facilities. “Hey, are you okay?”  
  
Shooting her head up, Emma turned around and saw the blonde standing there with a sympathetic look upon her face. That was the last thing that Emma wanted, someone’s sympathy. Taking a deep breath, she nodded her head.  
  
“I’m sorry about Tony,” she said stepping a little closer to the woman who she didn’t really know. “He was pretty shocked when he got that letter from your mother. He wasn’t sure how to handle it. But he knew that he wanted to meet you.”  
  
“Well he met me,” Emma said. “But that wasn’t how I ever thought I would meet my father. That was never something that I thought would happen.”  
  
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I can’t imagine how hard and weird this is for you.”  
  
“Clint didn’t tell me that he knew my father or any of the other Avengers. Makes me start to wonder what else he is keeping from me and if I am as important to him as he claims I am.”  
  
“I don’t know Clint very well,” Pepper admitted. “But even before we approached you, I could tell how much he loves you. And if I’m not wrong, you feel the same way?”  
  
“We’ve been together for three years and engaged for less than a week.”  
  
“Congratulations.”  
  
“I’m sorry,” Emma said shaking her head. “What was your name again?”  
  
“Pepper Potts,” she said sticking out her hand to shake Emma’s. “I’m the CEO at Stark Industries.”  
  
“Emma. Emma Winters,” she said introducing herself. “I’m a trauma nurse in the emergency room.”  
  
“Very impressive,” Pepper said. “I don’t think I would have the stomach for some of the things you deal with.”  
  
“I think everyone has an idea of what they can and can’t handle. When I was younger I just knew what I wanted to do and now I’m doing it.”  
  
“If you don’t mind me saying so,” Pepper said with a friendly smile. “I can see a lot of the Stark genes in you. Not just Tony, but his father Howard.”  
  
“Thanks,” Emma said. “I think I’m ready to head back out there. Would you like to get a drink with me at the bar?”  
  
“I would love to.” Pepper said with a smile.  
  
As the two of them left the bathroom, they didn’t even look for where the Avengers were. They just went straight to the bar for a much needed drink. Neither of them aware of the watchful eyes on the woman in the red dress.   
  
Once they got to the bar, Pepper smiled at the woman standing there looking bored. “Natasha, I didn’t know you would be coming tonight.”  
  
“Plans changed last minute,” the red headed woman said. “I’m Natasha Romanoff.”  
  
“Emma Winters.”  
  
“Tony Stark’s daughter that he had no idea about.”  
  
“That would be me,” Emma said as she ordered a long island iced tea from the bartender. “And how do you know Tony?”  
  
“I worked at Stark Industries for a short time,” Natasha said before looking around. “Do you hear that?”  
  
“Hear what?” Pepper and Emma asked, not sure what she was hearing.  
  
It wasn’t long before they got their answers. Three large blasts, from different parts of the room went off. Emma heard her name being called out and she could vaguely remember seeing blue eyes looking her over, but then everything went dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you like it!


	3. Chapter 3

The place was a catastrophe. People were running around and screaming, but through the smoke Pepper Potts could only see one clear thing. Emma Winters was laying on the dirty floor just like she was, but the difference was that Emma had blood coming down the side of her face and she wasn’t moving. Moving slowly because of how sore she felt, Pepper made her way to Emma’s side.  
  
“Emma? Emma, can you hear me?” Pepper asked, trying to hold back the tears that were forming in her eyes. Placing her hand on Emma’s chest, she watched as it went up and down before releasing a sigh of relief. Looking at Emma’s head where there was a large gash, it was hard to tell how deep it was from her hair and the dirt on her face.  
  
She couldn’t be sure how long she had been sitting with an unconscious Emma when she saw the familiar figure. “It’s going to be okay Emma. You are going to be okay, you just need to hold on until we get you to the hospital.”  
  
“Ms. Potts, are you okay?”  
  
“I’m alright, Steve,” Pepper said. “Emma isn’t. She hasn’t woken up and there is a gash on her head. I need help getting her to the hospital.”  
  
Nodding his head in understanding, Steve Rogers picked up the young woman and followed Pepper out one of the exits. Seeing Happy, Pepper let out a sigh of relief. “This way,” she told him as she walked as fast as she could in the heels and the chaos of the explosion. “Sit with her in the back, I need you to come with me. Can you do that?”  
  
“Yes, Ma’am.”  
  
Giving him a smile, Pepper turned back to see Happy approaching them. “Ms. Potts-”  
  
“Happy,” she said giving him a smile. “I need you to drive us to the hospital. Now.”  
  
“Who-”  
  
“That is Emma Winters-”  
  
“His-”  
  
“Yes, Happy,” Pepper said. “She is hurt, so can you drive us to the hospital?”  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
No one seemed to know anything that Tony Stark didn’t already know. He knew he should have brought one of his suits with him to this shindig, but he had listened to Pepper and left the suit at home. Making his way through the smoke and rubble, it reminded him of the alien attack when Loki meant to bring war to their world. When Tony reached the women’s bathroom, he couldn’t get the door open at first, but eventually it opened and he walked inside.  
  
“Pepper? Emma?”  
  
Hearing no reply, he opened the stall doors and looked into each of them, but neither of them were in the bathroom. With more determination, Tony went back out into the pandemonium of what had started out as a charity event. It was difficult to see through the smoke, so when Barton found him looking around as he helped to tell people where to go, it was a bit of a shock.  
  
“Have you seen them?” Tony asked as he continued to look around the room.  
  
“I haven’t seen Pepper since she followed Emma to the bathroom earlier,” Clint told him as he looked around, the worry upon his face was evident at least to Tony it was. “Did you check there?”  
  
“No one in the bathrooms,” Tony said as the continued through the rubble that was now the dance floor. “It was the first place I looked. Were they together? Where are Banner and Rogers?”  
  
“I haven’t seen either of them,” Clint said as he continued to survey the area. That was when he saw the familiar red colored head. “Natasha.”  
  
Rushing to where his friend was struggling with everything in her to get the broken pillar off her leg. With the help of Tony, they were able to get the red headed woman free. “Are you alright?”  
  
“Yeah,” she said sitting up. “Have you seen Pepper and the girl that was with her? They were standing near me when I heard something.”  
  
“Was it a brunette?” Clint asked as he helped her to her feet.  
  
“Yeah…” Natasha said and then paused for a moment and looked at Clint. “It was Emma wasn’t it?”  
  
“Did the brunette have a dark red dress?” Clint asked and when he saw Natasha nod her head he let out an agitated sigh. “Yeah it was her.”  
  
“We need to find Emma and Pepper,” Tony said as he looked around at the destruction of the ball room. He had been hoping for a better meeting with his daughter, but he had ruined that. Now he needed to find his girlfriend and daughter. The only things in his life worth living for, especially if he wanted to get to know his daughter that until recently he had no idea was even alive. Glancing over at Clint, he saw him take off running. “Where are you-”  
  
Before Tony could even finish asking his question, Clint had taken off running. Looking at Natasha, Tony shrugged his shoulders when she motioned that she had no idea why he had taken off like that.   
  
Hearing his phone ringing in his pocket, Tony continued to look around the room as he pulled it out of his suit pocket. Seeing that it was Pepper calling him, he let out a sigh of relief.  
  
“Thank god, Pepper. Where are you?”  
  
 _“I’m fine Tony,” Pepper told him as she paused before she started again. “I had Happy take us to the hospital.”_  
  
“Us?”  
  
 _“Emma was hurt pretty bad. She is still in surgery and we don’t know anything, but you and Clint should get here just in case something goes wrong.”_  
  
“Yeah,” Tony sighed and motioned for Natasha to follow him out of this place. “That might be a bit of a problem.”  
  
 _“Tony! You need to get here now and Emma will want to see Clint. They are together and it doesn’t matter what you think of it. This is about her and if you-”_  
  
“I can’t bring Oliver Queen, Pepper because he isn’t here. He just ran off and we have no idea where he went.”  
  
 _“We? Whose we?”_  
  
“Before he ran off we found Natasha. Just stay with Happy and we will be there soon.”  
  
 _“Happy left already. He will be outside soon waiting for you. I have Steve here. I’ll keep you updated until you can get here.”_  
  
“Thank you Pepper. We will see you soon.”  
  
After ending his call he placed his phone back into his pocket,  Tony walked with Natasha out of the exit that he had led people towards earlier. But it didn’t make sense to him, as to why the one man that had been searching for Emma as long as him had left without finding her. He just took off without saying anything to him, which could be understandable if he had said something to Natasha who looked just as clueless as he did. When they reached the stairs he saw the car that Happy had driven Tony and Pepper to the event earlier pull up to the curb. Not waiting for his long time friend to get out of the car, Tony opened the door himself and allowed Natasha into the car first before sliding into the seat next to her.  
  
“It’s good to see you Mr. Stark.”  
  
“How’s Emma doing Happy?”  
  
“Well when the Captain carried her from the building with Ms. Potts, she wasn’t responsive. Pepper convinced him to help her get her to the hospital and then they would call you. But when she was being looked over, Ms. Potts mentioned who she was to you and so they did some extra tests.”  
  
“Pepper sure does know how to get things done.” Natasha said with a fond smile for the red head.  
  
“A good thing too,” Happy said as he continued with what he was saying. “Once of the tests showed internal bleeding caused by how she landed from the explosion. That is what the doctor said to us.”  
  
Tony nodded his head and let Happy drive the rest of the way in silence. There was no way that he could put words together on what he was feeling. He had just found out that he had a daughter when he was young and stupid and now it seemed like he might just lose her before he got to know her. He wanted to know if she was like him or was she more like her mother was. He remembered Emma’s mother, but he wasn’t in love with her, not even back when they had been together. All he wanted right now was to get to know his daughter and maybe even have a relationship with her. What he hadn’t seen coming was the fact that she was engaged to Clint Barton.  
  
“She’ll be okay Stark.”  
  
Turning his head, Tony looked at Natasha. Her words were low, but not so low where he had any trouble hearing. After the events in New York City, Tony had a new perspective on many things and that included each and every one of the Avengers. Even though it had been awhile since it had happened, to him it was like it only happened yesterday. But maybe Pepper with the help of Emma would be able to drive the nightmares of that event from his mind.  
  
“How do you know?”  
  
“Starks have thick skin. She might not have your name, but she has part of your DNA,” she told him. “Plus she has to be tough to get Barton to change his mind about never getting married. He wouldn’t do something like that on a whim.”  
  
“I won’t lose her,” Tony said. “Not when I just found out that she is my daughter. I haven’t even had a real conversation with her.”  
  
“Then when you get there,” Natasha started. “Don’t leave her. With Clint not there, she will need someone to lean on.”  
  
“How do you-”  
  
“Don’t ask me that.”  
  
Nodding his head, Tony looked forward and stared out the windshield from the back seat. Letting out a sigh, he took out his phone and started to text Pepper for an update on Emma. For some reason the drive to the hospital seemed to be taking longer than he remembered it being. All he wanted to do was to see how Emma was doing and figure out what happened back at the charity event and why. Was that a planned attack when it was leaked that some of the Avengers would be there? But why would that cause such an attack? They had saved the city and Tony himself was almost lost when he put the nuclear bomb into the portal.  
  
“How much longer Happy?”  
  
“Ten minutes.”  
  
Nodding his head in understanding, Tony looked back down at his phone only to see that Pepper had yet to text him back with an answer to how Emma was doing. Running his hand through his hair, he leaned back in his seat and impatiently waited for Happy to pull up in front of the hospital entrance so he could get in there faster.   
  
It wasn’t long before he was doing just that. And Natasha was following him at her own pace while Happy went to park the car.  
  
Once Tony made it to Emma’s room, he felt as if he had been punched in the gut repeatedly. When he had first seen Emma earlier this evening she had been wearing a beautiful red gown and she had a glow about her, but now her dress had been replaced by a hospital gown and her skin was pale. It was a bit of a surprise to see Steve Rogers sitting next to his daughter’s bedside as if he were the one in a relationship with her and not the missing archer.  
  
“Tony.”  
  
Looking across the large private room, he saw Pepper set down her phone on the table and get up from her chair and cross over to where he was standing in the doorway. It was a rare occasion that he didn’t know what to say. Feeling a hand lace its fingers with his, he looked down at Pepper and let out a breath that he had been holding.  
  
“She looks bad.”  
  
“Blood loss,” Pepper clarified for him. “When she was in surgery she lost a lot of blood and they found out something that complicated the simple surgery. But don’t worry Tony, the doctors believe she is going make a full recovery.”  
  
“Then why isn’t she awake?”  
  
“Where is Barton?” Steve asked as he watched Natasha casually walk into the room.  
  
“He took off,” Natasha said as she sat in the seat that Pepper had recently vacated. “I think he might have seen something, but I  can’t be sure. I tried getting in contact with him, but he hasn’t responded to anything.”  
  
“He should be here.”  
  
“Tony.”  
  
“Why isn’t she awake?” Tony asked again.  
  
“They have her on some good pain medication. She will be in a lot of pain when she comes to. Emma will probably want to get away when she realizes everything that has happened.”  
  
Pepper gave his hand a squeeze before looking at the girl laying in the bed. She was young and the pain she would feel when she woke up was not going to be pleasant. The pain wasn’t just going to be physical pain, but emotional pain as well. And it would only be worse if Clint didn’t show up before she woke up. Emma didn’t really know any of the four people in her hospital room. It would distress her to know that the man she was going to marry had to taken off without a word to anyone about where he was going and he wasn’t answering any calls or texts.  
  
It wasn’t long before Emma started moving around in her sleep induced state and then her eyes were fluttering open. Groaning at the brightness of the lights above her, she brought her arm up to shield her eyes.   
  
“Emma, how do you feel?” Pepper asked as she notice Natasha slip out of the room to get a doctor or nurse.  
  
“Tired,” Emma said was a dry and scratchy throat. “Water?”  
  
Steve moved to the table on the other side of him and poured some water into a plastic cup. Placing a straw into the cup, he headed back to Emma and helped her get the water that she had requested. Once she had enough, she nodded at Steve with a small smile before looking around the room and noticed that there was something or rather someone missing.  
  
“Where is Clint?”


	4. Chapter 4

_Walking out of the hospital, Emma placed her cell phone into her messenger bag. It had been three nights since she stepped out of her comfort zone and hooked up with a random guy. The next morning though, she snuck out and didn’t leave a note or anything for him to find her by. It was a one night stand so there was no need to ever see him again. Normally she didn’t really know what you were supposed to do in a situation like that, so she just made it up as she went. On her way home, she promised herself that it would be her first and last one night stand._  
  
_Glancing up, she was surprised to see the man from that night walking towards her with a grin upon his face and a red rose in his hand. Not her favorite flower, but her mother was the only one that knew what her favorite flower was._  
  
_Looking into his bright blue eyes, Emma forgot how to breathe for a moment. Not to mention her ability to speak had also vanished. What was he doing here and how in the world did he find her? She couldn’t remember if she told him or something else._  
  
_“Hi,” he said with a grin on his face. “Break or getting off?”_  
  
_“I just finished a forty eight hour shift,” Emma told him as she finally found her voice. “How did you know I was even here?”_  
  
_“I remembered you said your name was Emma and that you were a nurse for a hospital,” he said. “So I pulled a few strings to find out what hospital you worked at.”_  
  
_“Strings?” Emma questioned him, her tone held the note of uncertainty. “What are you? CIA? FBI? Some kind of spy?”_  
  
_“Personal security,” he said as he tried to hand her the single red rose, but she didn’t take it. “And it was worth buying ice level Rangers tickets for my friend.”_  
  
_Biting down on her lip, she glanced at the rose that was still in his hand and then back up to his face. Pushing some of her dark hair that had come out of her hair behind her ear, she didn’t know what to make of this blue eyed stranger. “And what now? You found me, so what now?”_  
  
_Giving her a half smile, he looked into her brown eyes before speaking. “Now, I  ask you to dinner and hope like hell that you say yes.”_  
  
_“Dinner?”_  
  
_The surprise was written clear as day upon her face._  
  
_“It’s a meal people usually eat in the evenings and sometimes they eat with other people.”_  
  
_“I know what dinner is.”_  
  
_“Unless you have other plans?” he asked her. “Or a boyfriend maybe?”_  
  
_“Wow, can you be anymore of an ass?”_  
  
_“Why?” he questioned her, without losing his smile. “Because a man can cheat, but not a woman? Or just not you?”_  
  
_He could read the disgust on her face and had a hard time keeping from laughing out loud._  
  
_“Who do you think you are?”_  
  
_“Clint Barton.”_  
  
_“Excuse me?”_  
  
_This time, he couldn’t do it. The laughter escaped. Once he calmed down, Clint smiled at her as he took her hand and wrapped her fingers around the stem of the rose before withdrawing his own hand. “My name is Clint Barton. That’s who I am.”_  
  
_“Look, Clint Barton,” Emma said with a sigh, knowing she just wanted to leave and go home. “I’m flattered. Really, I am. But I have just finished a long and tiring shift. All I want to do is go home and sleep.”_  
  
_“You should eat.”_  
  
_Shaking her head at him, she had to give him credit. Clint Barton was a very persistent man._  
  
_“I’m sure that there is food at my place.”_  
  
_“Is that an invite?”_  
  
_“No.”_  
  
_“So you won’t accept my invite to dinner, but you’ll sleep with me?”_  
  
_“I was drunk and you know it!”_  
  
_“You weren’t that far gone,” Clint said. “Admit it. You, Nurse Emma, wanted me that night and I think you still do.”_  
  
_Shaking her head, she folded her arms over her chest as you looked at him. “Look, that night was fun. I’m not the girl you think I am and I’m sorry for that. But that night is over and it is time to move on.”_  
  
_“Nah,” Clint said. “I’ll keep asking. Eventually you’ll say yes.”_  
  
_Leaning closer, he placed a kiss on her cheek before walking away with a big grin on his face. When he  turned and looked at Emma he could see a faint smile on her face as she lifted the rose to her nose to smell the fragrance of the rose he had put into her hand._  
  
_Hearing his cell phone ringing, he took it out of his jacket pocket and answered it without even glancing at the screen to see who it was. No, his attention was more focused on Emma as she started to walk towards the subway._  
  
_“Barton.”_  
  
_“How did it go Agent Barton?”_  
  
_“Well she is very stubborn. But I believe I can get through and close to her.”_  
  
_“Has your cover been compromised?_  
  
_“No sir. I’m Clint Barton, personal security.”_  
  
_“So she has no idea that her father is Tony Stark?”_  
  
_“None, sir. Her mother has never said anything to her. Possibly to protect her, but she has no idea.”_  
  
_“Make sure you get close and keep me informed of your progress.”_  
  
_“Of course Director Fury.”_  
  
_Hanging up his phone, he slid it back into his pocket before looking into the direction that Emma had gone in. “Your life will never be the same again Emma Winters.”_  
  
Clint ran. Sometimes he ran to avoid being captured or he ran so that he could catch up with who he believed to be his target. His reason for running at this very moment? He believed that he was in pursuit of the person who made the bombs go off that caused all that chaos.  
  
Clint knew that Tony would find Emma and if she was hurt, he would get to a hospital as fast as possible. And if she wasn’t hurt, then Tony or one of the other Avengers would get her to safety. At least that was what he was hoping for. He could only hope that Emma would understand why he wasn’t with her during the aftermath of the chaos of the charity event.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
_“Where is Clint?”_  
  
That had been the question Emma wanted to know, but no one really knew the answer. She had been told he was following a lead on what had happened and another answer was he was out there looking for her. Something told Emma that she couldn’t really believe anything until she saw him.  
  
When the doctor that had done her surgery came in to talk with her about what happened, he had asked Steve to leave them, but Emma stopped that. She knew that Steve had carried her from the rubble and he had been honest with her since she woke up in this place. Although she didn’t know him that well, she did know that she could trust him. He was one of the good guys in her opinion.  
  
“Emma, are you in any pain?”  
  
“Just tell me what you did in the surgery and when I can leave.”  
  
“When you were brought in there was some internal bleeding. It was more than normal in someone your age and with what you experienced.”  
  
“Did you find the cause?”  
  
“You were in the early stages of pregnancy. Were you aware of that?”  
  
Emma could feel her heart drop to her stomach. She had been pregnant? There had been no sign of that. So she had been carrying Clint’s child and he still hadn’t  come to see her. Taking a deep and calming breath, she opened her eyes when she felt a hand gently squeeze her own. Steve Rogers didn’t have to stay with her, but he had. Turning her head, she looked at the doctor. “I didn’t know. There were no obvious signs.”  
  
“But you have been sexually active?”  
  
“Yes.”  
  
“Unfortunately we were not able to save the baby, but the damage done was not as severe as we first believed it to be. There is no reason  that you won’t be able to have children in the future.”  
  
Emma nodded her head in understanding, but she was still wrapping her head around the fact that she had been pregnant and now she wasn’t. All she wanted right now, was to leave the hospital and New York City. At least for a time. So many things were happening and they were happening so fast that she couldn’t really comprehend it all. “When can I be discharged?”  
  
“You’ll need to get plenty of rest and-”  
  
“Then please get my discharge papers. I want to leave.”  
  
“I’ll have those papers drawn up.”  
  
Without another word Emma watched as the doctor walked out of the room without telling her anything else. She didn’t know the doctor, but  she also didn’t care to. She just wanted to leave and get away. Although she wondered if Clint even cared at this point. Maybe he already knew that she lost his baby and that was why he was staying away, but that didn’t sound like Clint. Shaking her head, she looked at Steve. “Can you call Pepper and ask her for a good hotel in the Los Angeles area?”  
  
Nodding his head, Steve quietly left the room to give Emma some time alone and to pass along the message to Pepper. Steve didn’t know what it was like to find out that you were going to have a child only to learn in the next sentence that because of the explosion the baby didn’t make it. And with Clint not even showing up probably didn’t help Emma at all.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Walking around her bedroom, Emma pulled out the clothes that she believed she would need. Pepper had told her that she was heading to Tony’s Malibu home while he stayed in New York City for something. She was sure that Pepper told her, but she was tired and zoned out, but what she hadn’t expected was that she was offered a ride on Tony’s private jet and also to stay with Pepper at Tony’s Malibu home. It had been a very generous offer that Emma had considered declining, but Pepper had assured her that Tony wasn’t coming and that they could make it a girl’s trip. And so Emma then accepted the offer.  
  
With her suitcase packed, she zipped it up and left it on the bed. Walking over to her electronics, she placed them on the bed next to the carryon bag she was taking. She had never been on a private jet so she just packed things the way she would if she were flying on a Southwest flight. Once she was sure that she had everything, she sat down for a minute.  
  
It had been three days since she had been at the hotel where bombs were set off. She didn’t know if the Avengers were the targets or the celebrities or even someone working for one of the hotels. It was all very confusing to her. But the hardest thing she had to comprehend was the fact that she hadn’t heard from or seen Clint since she walked to the bathroom when she found out that he had been holding the truth back from her.  
  
If she was being honest with herself, she didn’t know where they stood. Maybe this time away would help her figure it out. But then again, maybe too much thinking might just land her in the same place that she was currently at.  
  
Running a hand through her thick dark hair, Emma suddenly looked up and was speechless when she saw who was standing in the doorway of her bedroom. She didn’t say anything, but she continued to look at him. Emma normally would have hated the silence, but there were so many things she wanted to say to him.  
  
Hearing her cell phone go off letting her know that she had a text message, she broke her staring match to grab it from her bedside table. Seeing that it was a message from Pepper, she opened it right away. _I’m downstairs. Are you ready to go?_ Boy was she ever ready to leave.  
  
_You have no idea. Be down in just a minute._  
  
Placing her phone into her bag, she zipped it up. Pulling the strap over her shoulder before moving to grab her suitcase. Once she gripped the side handle she set it down so she could pull up the handle so she wouldn’t have to carry it downstairs and to the awaiting car.  
  
“You’re just going to leave then?”  
  
“I need some time to figure things out. Things have changed.”  
  
“Nothing has changed.”  
  
“Everything has changed!” Emma said raising her voice. “I need to figure out where I am supposed to go from here and I can’t do that here. So yes, I am leaving. It isn’t like you really care about that.”  
  
Moving quickly, he stood in front of her and placed his hands on the side of her face. Forcing her to look at him in the eyes when he spoke, Clint made sure he didn’t use too much force on her. “Don’t you ever say that I don’t care. You know I love you.”  
  
Taking his hands off her face, she moved away from him as she shook her head. “I haven’t seen or heard from you in three days. I was in the hospital. You should have been there with me, but instead it was Captain America.”  
  
“Things got-”  
  
“I DON’T CARE!” Emma screamed at him as a few tears escaped from her eyes. “When I needed you the most, you weren’t there. I needed you and you let me down. But I should have known better.”  
  
“Emma…”  
  
“The real kicker though,” Emma said as she moved to grab her suitcase out of the bedroom. “I didn’t know it, but I was pregnant. The blast I was in killed the baby, but I didn’t know and you weren’t there when I found out that I lost our baby. Maybe you should stay here and think on that.”  
  
Without another word, Emma left the bedroom and the apartment without looking back. Taking a deep breath she gave the driver Happy a small smile as he placed her things in the trunk of the car while she got in and sat next to Pepper. This time apart was going to be good, it would show her what she really needed in her life and what she didn’t. But leaving Clint that way was hard and part of her wanted to go back up to the apartment and wrap her arms around him. But this is what she needed to do. There was no doubt about it in her mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think!


	5. Chapter 5

_“Hey, you’ve reached Emma. I’m not here, so leave me a message and I’ll get back to when I can.”_  
  
 _“Em, it has been a week and you still haven’t returned any of my calls. Things are complicated. But please, just give me the  chance to explain it to you. I love you Em, please just call me back.”_  
  
Watching the waves come to the shore before washing back out to the ocean. It had been a week since she and Pepper had arrived in Malibu.  After the second day she turned off her cell phone. She wasn’t ready to talk to Clint or anyone really.   
  
Reaching behind her, she grabbed the yellow blanket that she had taken from the house and wrapped it around herself. The setting sun was making the weather cool down rapidly and since she wasn’t ready to go back inside. While she was sitting in the sand, she couldn’t help but think back to everything that had happened recently. Everything had been so normal until the explosions happened and she woke up in the hospital. She hadn’t even realized that she had been pregnant and before she could even be excited for the opportunity to be a mother it was all taken away from her. The one person that she wanted to be with hadn’t even bothered to show up to the hospital to check and see if she was okay.  
  
She wasn’t okay. Her life was falling apart before her eyes and there was nothing she could do to slow it down or stop it. The man that she was going to marry knew that her father was Tony Stark and never said a word to her about it. It made her start to wonder what else he didn’t say anything about. Did he sleep with her that first night because he knew who her father was and thought it would be fun?  
  
Leaning her head down, she placed her forehead on her knees as she took a couple deep breaths. Why did everything have to be so damn complicated? Was this how things were going to be from now on between her and Clint? Resting her chin on her knees, Emma just listened to the silence that came with the solitude on the beach.  
  
She wasn’t sure why she took Pepper Potts’ offer to come to Tony Stark’s private home in Malibu. Emma knew that she couldn’t hide in California forever, even if she wanted to.  Maybe she could. Running her hand through her hair, Emma looked at her phone. Another missed call from Clint, not like that was a real surprise. What did surprise her was when it started to ring once again. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes for a second before accepting the call.  
  
“Hello?”  
  
 _“Emma, we need to talk.”_  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Sitting at a table in the apartment Steve Rogers had, did nothing to calm Clint’s nerves. He had been trying to reach Emma since she left, but she never called him back. He knew she was safe because Bruce had mentioned that Tony had spoken to Pepper a few times since the two women arrived at Stark’s Malibu home. The security at Tony Stark’s Malibu home was just as detailed as it was anywhere he had security.  
  
This place fit Steve Rogers like a glove, especially the old school things that were from the era that he grew up in. There were a few black and white photos scattered around, but the really great thing about Steve’s place was  that it felt like a home. Just like his and Emma’s place did before she had left the state. Now he couldn’t even sleep at night, not without Emma so far away and hating him.  
  
Running his hand through his hair, he watched as Steve and Natasha finally joined him at the table. Ever since the explosion at the charity event, it seemed the only that that really listened to him was Natasha and thanks to her Steve was willing to listen to what he has to say.  
  
“Would you like a drink?”  
  
Shaking his head, Clint declined the offer even though part of him wished for a particularly strong drink. But something in him didn’t believe that Steve kept that kind of drink in his home.  
  
“You should get comfortable Rogers,” Natasha told him. “This is a long story, but you should just give him the cliff notes version of the history of you and Emma.”  
  
Taking a deep breath, Clint nodded and looked at Steve who had his full attention trained on the expert bowman. “I don’t know what you know about me and Emma, but there are things that you probably don’t wish to hear, especially with your new friendship with her.”  
  
“Go on.”  
  
“Shield got information a few years ago that Tony Stark had a daughter and they didn’t know if she would contact him and if she did what would she want from him. So they sent me in to figure out who she was and all the dirty details of her life.”  
  
“Shield shouldn’t have done that.” Steve said.  
  
“What he did next is what he probably shouldn’t have done.” Natasha said ignoring the glare that Clint threw her way.  
  
“What happened next?”  
  
“I fell in love with her. Even though Shield was satisfied, I couldn’t make myself just leave her. I didn’t mean to but I fell in love with her.”  
  
“And Shield didn’t like that?” Steve questioned him.  
  
“Not many knew about her to begin with.”  
  
“Director Fury?”  
  
“He was the only one that knew that I continued to see her after Shield was convinced that she was not a threat.” Clint said.  
  
“So Shield believed that she wasn’t a threat,” Steve said. “Then what happened? Does she know that you work with them? That you were looking into her?”  
  
“Emma didn’t know that I was sent to look into her as a threat and I would like for it to stay that way.”  
  
“Don’t you think that she deserves to know?”  
  
“The truth would hurt her right now and she’s already hurting so much.” Clint told him as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in his chair. “Do you really think that I should add onto the hurt that she’s already feeling?”  
  
“She deserves to know.”  
  
“Now is not the time for her to know, but she will know the truth.”   
  
Steve’s eyes watched Clint. At first he truly thought that he was saying what he thought he wanted to hear, but something in him knew that he wasn’t lying. Not about Emma. He had seen him the last few days since Emma had left the state and stopped taking his calls. Clint truly loved Emma and it was very plain to see.  
  
“And what happened when  you disappeared?”  
  
“Stark and I had been looking for Emma and Pepper when we came upon Natasha. She  was talking and that’s when I saw someone that wasn’t rushing around as if there had been an explosion. No he was smiling as if he had just done something great. So I listened to my instinct and followed him.”  
  
“Which is why you didn’t show up at the hospital with Stark.” Steve said, understanding a little bit more.  
  
“I wanted to be there for Emma, I did, but I couldn’t let this go. And I was right about it. I followed this guy to the old subway tunnels that are no longer in use. It led me right to an underground Hydra base.”  
  
“Hydra?” Steve asked, anger lacing his voice. “What does Hydra have to gain by blowing the hotel up?”  
  
“It was going all around that the Avengers were going to make an appearance. What better way to get rid of them than a big explosion?” Natasha asked as she looked up from her phone.  
  
“So we were the  target?” Steve asked.  
  
“And Emma.” Natasha told him.  
  
“Emma?” Steve asked, confused. “Why would she be a target?”  
  
“She’s Tony Stark’s daughter. There must have been a leak somewhere and Hydra wanted to take out any possible threat.”  
  
“And you don’t believe that she deserves to know about this?”  
  
“I don’t want her to look over her shoulder the whole time, but I have been trying to talk to her about this.” Clint said.  
  
“But…”  
  
“She doesn’t answer his phone calls. At least she hasn’t yet.” Natasha said.  
  
“Call her now,” Steve said. When Clint gave him a confused look, he continued. “Call Emma now.”  
  
“Okay…” Clint said still confused, but he still took out his cell phone and called Emma’s cell and put it on speaker phone before setting it onto the table. “She isn’t going to answer my call.”  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Walking back into Tony Stark’s Malibu mansion, Emma saw Pepper walking down the stairs. The sun was starting to set and so the cool air was starting to come in full force, so she had decided to come inside. When she had seen Clint’s name and picture come on the screen to her phone, she thought she could talk to him, but when he started to talk, she realized that she really couldn’t do it. The moment he spoke, she froze up and then she hung up on him.  
  
“Hey Pepper,” Emma said, putting a fake smile on her face. “Going out tonight?”  
  
“Actually I thought we could order a pizza and watch movies tonight,” Pepper said with a smile. “What do you think?”  
  
Taking in what Pepper was wearing, Emma smiled. She hadn’t even noticed that the woman that she had fled the state with and all the drama in New York City was wearing sweats and had washed off her make up from the day.  
  
“I  think that a movie sounds great,” Emma smiled. “Can we do it somewhere besides the couch?”  
  
“How about you take a shower and get any lingering sand and I’ll order pizza and meet you in my bedroom?” Pepper suggested.  
  
“Hey, Pepper?” Emma said, stopping right before the staircase that lead to the upstairs. “Can we not do romance?”  
  
“I hear that there is a marathon of old documentaries will be playing tonight.”  
  
“Thanks Pepper,” Emma smiled, a true smile. “You’ve been a great friend to me.”  
  
Emma didn’t take long in the shower, but she did take her time getting dressed. She decided on a large shirt that tended to slip off one of her shoulders and a pair of black capri pajama pants. Making her way to Pepper’s room, she was glad that the pizza was already there and Pepper had everything set up including drinks.  
  
As soon as the girls had everything set up, Pepper started a documentary that she had paused so that Emma could watch it from the start. What she hadn’t known was the first documentary was going to feature Howard Stark.  
  
“I’m sorry,” Pepper said as she reached for the remote that she had placed on her bedside table. “I didn’t realize what this one was about.”  
  
“Can you leave it on?” Emma asked, turning her head to look at Pepper. “I would like to know if I’m anything like that side of my family.”  
  
“From the letter your mother sent Tony, she said you were really smart like he is and I know Tony gets that from his own father.” Pepper said.  
  
“Did you know him?” Emma asked. “Howard Stark I mean.”  
  
“I never met him,” Pepper said as they watched a young Howard Stark on the television. “He died in a car crash with his wife when Tony was a teenager.”  
  
“I wonder if things would have been different,” Emma said as her eyes stayed glued to Howard Stark. “If my mother had told Tony that she was pregnant or even later on. She knew that he wasn’t the man for her, but I think I missed out on a lot of things by not having a father as I grew up. I used to think that there was something wrong with me because while my friends all had mothers and fathers, I had only my mother.”  
  
“I’m sorry that you had to go through that.”  
  
“I didn’t grow up poor or unloved, but after everything I have gone through since I’ve met Clint it makes me wonder if it was all some kind of elaborate plan because it is very clear to me that he knew who my father was even before I did.”  
  
“Do you think he lied to you?”  
  
“Lied or misled me on purpose,” Emma said. “I don’t know what hurts more. That he wasn’t there for me when I needed him the most or that he has been keeping secrets from me for as long as we have been together.”  
  
Pepper gave the young woman who was laying next to her on the bed a sympathetic look. Then she saw Emma toying with the diamond ring on her finger. “Are you going to marry him still?”  
  
“I don’t know if I can,” Emma said truthfully. She finally voiced what she had been thinking about for the last few days. “How  can I marry someone who has been dishonest with me for years and I only found out about it by chance?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd love to know what you think!


	6. Chapter 6

Growing up without a father or any siblings, Emma had to learn early on that through the good and the bad her mother would always be there for her. And she was, until she got sick. The hard part was that she was no longer around to give her advice on what she should do about Clint or even Tony Stark. It was obvious that he wanted to be a part of her life, but didn’t really know how to go about it. She wasn’t at the typical age where someone would find out who her father really was. But that didn’t matter because some people went their whole lives without knowing who their parents were.  
  
It was mid morning by the time Emma finally pulled herself out of bed. Since it had been after one in the morning by the time she dragged herself back to her own room, but sleep didn’t come easily that night. Just like most nights, Emma found herself unable to fall asleep and so she would lay awake in the dark room and go through the pictures on her phone. There were so many of her and Clint and she couldn’t remember there being a time where anything felt off about where he was spending his time or when he was with her. No matter how much distance she put between them, Emma’s mind kept going back to Clint and how she felt when he didn’t show up while she was in the hospital.  
  
Hearing knocking at the front door, Emma made sure she was dressed decently before descending the staircase and making her way to the door. Putting a half smile on her face, she looked at the light haired woman who was dressed in the uniform of a united states postal service worker.   
  
“Ms. Emma Winters?” the woman asked.  
  
“Yes?”  
  
“Sign here,” she said as she handed a clipboard and pen to Emma. “Please.”  
  
Looking down at the form, Emma grabbed the pen and scribbled her name on the line. Handing the clipboard and pen back to the woman she handed Emma the large envelope to her before walking away.  
  
Flipping the envelope over in her hands, Emma looked at it from every angle. There wasn’t anything strange about it, but who would send her something? Not many people knew where she was so she was curious what it was.  
  
“Jarvis?”  
  
 _“Yes, Ms. Winters?”_  
  
“Can you tell me when Pepper left today?” Emma asked the artificial intelligence.   
  
_“Ms. Potts left after six in the morning.”_  
  
“Thank you Jarvis.”  
  
 _“Will there be anything else Ms. Winters?”_  
  
“No,” Emma said as she walked towards the kitchen as she looked down at the envelope in her hands. “Thank you Jarvis.”  
  
Tearing the envelope Emma pulled out the contents. There was a letter and what felt like some photos. Ignoring the photos, she opened the small envelope to read the letter.  
  
 _Emma,_  
  
 _You don’t know who I am, but I think that you should know something. The people around you are keeping secrets from you and I think you deserve to know._  
  
 _Clint Barton isn’t who he says he is._  
  
 _And neither is Natasha Romanoff. They are both killers. Murderers._  
  
 _You probably want a bit of proof that I’m not the one lying to you. Look at the pictures of my proof._  
  
 _Good luck with what you decide to do._  
  
 _Sincerely,_  
  
 _A Friend._  
  
Emma read the letter twice. There was no signature on the letter and no return address on the envelope. A feeling of dread was starting to take over as she set the letter on the table. Gripping the photos, she turned them over and saw what the letter meant. The images were not something that Emma had ever believed she would see. At first glance she believed that the photographs were fakes or maybe even photoshopped to make her believe something that wasn’t true.  
  
The more she looked at the photos the more she convinced herself that they were real. And that was hurting more than she could comprehend. It meant that Clint had lied to her. He was never going to marry her because he already had his own family. Knowing that now it still left her alone and with her heart in pieces. Not that long ago, Emma believed that Clint Barton was everything that she wanted in the person she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. Finding out that he had been lying to her was more painful than she ever thought possible.  
  
Leaving the letter and the photos on the counter in the kitchen, Emma rushed up the stairs and packed her suitcase. The only things she would take with her would be her clothes and absolutely nothing else. She could replace her shampoo and conditioner along with the body wash. Clint had once told her that there was a tracking device in her cell phone so that if he ever needed to find her he could track her by her phone. At the time she thought it was a bit strange, but now she understood why he would want to find her. But that wouldn’t help him find her if she left her cell phone behind. And that was the plan, to leave her phone and all her electronics behind so that neither he nor Tony or anyone else could find her so easily. The only real question was, where would she  go?   
  
There had been many places that she wanted to visit, but she never had the time when she was working so many hours or spending time with Clint when he had the time off in New York. But now the choice was hers. With a sad smile upon her face, she knew exactly where she would go. Making she had everything she needed, Emma went downstairs and pulled out a piece of paper from the pad that was sitting on the kitchen table. There was no way that she could leave without thanking Pepper for everything that she had done for her.   
  
_Pepper,_  
  
 _I’m sorry that I have to do this. But I think I have taken your hospitality for granted and with the package I received earlier I really do think the timing is right. My only regret is that I didn’t say good-bye face to face. You have been a real friend to me and I appreciate it more than you know._  
  
 _I’ve left my cell phone behind because right now I really don’t want to be found and I hope that you can explain that to Tony. I know that with some time I will come back and maybe I can get to know him._  
  
 _The only request that I do have is that you not tell Clint where I’ve gone and give him the ring that I’ve enclosed in the letter back to him. I think you’ll understand why I’m asking you to do this when you see the photos. They are sitting on the counter in the kitchen and feel free to read the letter as well._  
  
 _Thank you for everything Pepper. I just hope that I’ll be able to see you again one of these days when things aren’t so complicated and stressful._  
  
 _Emma._  
  
Glancing at the ring, part of Emma didn’t want to give it back and the other part didn’t want to keep it. She knew that it was best if it was returned because there would be no wedding. At least not for her and Clint. She had to wonder if there were signs that she missed. But even if there were, it was too late to save her heart the pain. Placing the ring into the  envelope that she had taken from Pepper’s bedroom earlier in the week, she put the ring inside and then the letter before sealing it up. Writing Pepper’s name on the envelope, she put it somewhere that she would see it upon her return home. Taking her cell phone out of her pocket, she knew she had to leave it behind, but it was going to be weird to leave without any of her electronics. But it had to be done. Putting the phone on power saver, she turned down the volume down to vibrate.  
  
Now it was time for her to leave.  
  
With the cell phone next to the letter, Emma grabbed her bag and walked out the front door. She didn’t have to walk very far before she was able to hail a taxi to take her to the airport. Knowing she still had to purchase a plane ticket, didn’t bother her. There was no rush on where she was going as long as she left and she had already made the first step by leaving Tony Stark’s Malibu home.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Walking around what used to be Stark Tower, Clint was feeling restless. Tony had called and told him that he needed to get over there and that they needed to talk about Emma. That seemed to get his attention and Clint was on his way. That was over an hour ago now and Tony still had yet to make an appearance.   
  
Just as he was about to start look for a drink, Tony came in with Pepper and Steve trailed behind them.  
  
“Clint-”  
  
“Were you going to tell my daughter about your other family before or after she married you thinking it was real?” Tony asked taking a large gulp of whatever he was drinking.  
  
“Tony…” Pepper sighed as he placed her hand on his shoulder before turning her attention to the deadly archer who was looking at them confused. “I came home early from work today and found a letter from Emma telling me that she appreciated everything that I had done for her but she was leaving.”  
  
“Why would she leave?” Clint asked confused by all of this. “Did something happened between the two of you?”  
  
“Not between us,” Pepper said. “She got a package and when she opened it there were photos of you.”  
  
“Of me?”  
  
Handing over the photos, Pepper didn’t say anything. No one did. Clint looked at the photos with heartache. He knew this woman and the children. But the only thing was that he hadn’t seen them in a few years and there was another kid on the way. Looking into the curious eyes of the three that were looking at him.  
  
“I know her. I know the kids as well. That’s Cooper and Lila. The woman, her name is Laura.”  
  
“Your wife.”  Tony said.  
  
“My wife.” Clint agreed. “No one is supposed to know about her.”  
  
“Your wife.” Pepper repeated with a hint of surprise and disappointment lacing her voice.  
  
“There are no records of her with SHIELD.” Steve said speaking up for the first time.  
  
“No, there aren’t,” Clint agreed. “Fury kept her off record especially since we were married before I signed on with SHIELD. It was supposed to keep her safe from everyone.”  
  
“So who would send this stuff to Emma?”  
  
“Hydra.”   
  
Jumping to his feet, Clint started to leave, but Tony blocked his path.  
  
“Barton where are you going?”  
  
“If Hydra did send those photos to Emma, then that means my home is in danger and I won’t sit here and pretend like it doesn’t bother me.”  
  
“I’ll go with you.”  
  
Nodding his head, Clint left and Steve followed after him.   
  
Steve Rogers had become friends with Emma Winters right after the explosion, but he couldn’t imagine what was going through her head or how she was seeing. Especially since there was no one there when she found out that she had been lied to for years.  
  
“Where do you think that Emma has run to?” Steve asked as Clint drove them to the airstrip where they would fly to Clint’s home.  
  
“There are many possibilities,” Clint finally said after a long bit of silence. “Germany, Ireland, Australia, Scotland, Hawaii. Those were always on her list of places she would want to visit some day.”  
  
“After your family is safe we should start looking for her,” Steve said. “If Hydra wanted to put you two at different ends, there has to be a reason and I don’t think it will be good for anyone if they get what they want.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts?


	7. Chapter 7

_Four Years Ago_  
  
 _Walking through the door of his home, of the safest place that he knew, Clint Barton sighed in relief. Three months on one mission was enough to make anyone miss home, but he missed his kids. His wife on the other hand, things just hadn’t been the same since she had miscarried their baby. Sure they had Cooper and Lila, but Laura had wanted a large family and at the time that they married he had wanted that as well. But now things were different. He was different._  
  
 _There was no doubt in his mind when he had married Laura that he loved her more than anything. But he no longer minded the longer missions that the director sent him on. The only thing he missed was seeing his kids and tucking them in at night. But his wife was no longer the last thing on his mind before getting sleep each night. He knew what he had to do, but he didn’t know what he would say or how it would go over._  
  
 _Stepping over the threshold of his home that he hadn’t seen in months, Clint let out a sigh of relief. Closing the door behind him, he locked it before dropping his bag by the couch. He was exhausted. Mentally and physically. There were some missions that nothing ever happened and then there were the times where too much happened. Just as he sat down on the couch, a light in the kitchen turned on. Springing to his feet, Clint let out a breath of relief when he saw that it was only Laura._  
  
 _“We weren’t expecting you back for a few more days.”_  
  
 _That was the typical greeting that Clint came back to. There was no hello or I’ve missed you. Those days were long over and as much as it hurt, he knew he had to talk to her about it. “We wrapped everything up early. Didn’t feel like sticking around any longer than we needed to.”_  
  
 _“The kids will be happy to see you back early.” Laura said._  
  
 _“But not you,” Clint said as he looked at her, but she wouldn’t meet his gaze. “We need to have a talk Laura. I think we should have had it awhile ago.”_  
  
 _It wasn’t hard to read the look that crossed Laura’s face. Clint was sure that if he looked into the mirror he would see the same look upon his face. Something that should have been done awhile ago and could no longer be put off._  
  
 _“Nothing has been the same since I lost the baby,” Laura said and then shook her head. “That’s not true is it? Things just haven’t been the same for awhile and then when I got pregnant we tried to fix it for the kids.”_  
  
 _“It just wasn’t working for us,” Clint said. “You know how dangerous my job is. You’ve been kept off the radar from anyone that would want revenge.”_  
  
 _“Does that mean it won’t be that any longer?”_  
  
 _The fear in Laura’s eyes made Clint’s stomach drop. Walking over to her, he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her to him. At first she was tense and then relaxed into the embrace. “I won’t let anything happen to you or the kids. Not if I can help it. To keep you safe, I think it is safe to say that this marriage is done.”_  
  
 _“What do we tell the kids?”_  
  
 _“We can figure that out later,” Clint said as he let her go. “But we won’t do this the normal way Laura. I need to know that you all are still protected even if I can’t get to you right away.”_  
  
 _“What are you saying?” she asked, confused more than ever._  
  
 _“I’m saying no divorce on paper. We stay married in name so that we can make sure nothing is going to happen. To anyone.”_  
  
 _Nodding her head, she caught on. “Married only in name.”_  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Watching the waves crash onto the sand, Emma sighed with a sigh of relief. After her last minute flight, so was happy that she was away from everything. In Hawaii there was so much history but there was also peace. Leaving everything that could be tracked to her was the best decision she could make. Walking closer to the surf, she smiled. A real smile. It felt as if it had been a long time since she smiled while really meaning it.  
  
As she was enjoying the surf, Emma didn’t see the pair of eyes watching her. They hadn’t just been watching her since she got to the island, no they had watched her wearing that beautiful dress before the explosions went off and then when she and Tony Stark’s girlfriend fled New York for some relaxation in sunny California. It didn’t go by unnoticed from the person watching Emma that she spent so much time at the beach in Malibu and had picked Hawaii of all places to run to. The time was getting closer to when Emma would know of their presence and then she would help them get what it was that they really wanted.   
  
This was one of the biggest assignments in more than a year and failure was not an option. Not for anyone in the unit. Everyone had something riding on getting the information. It wasn’t for them personally, but it was for the bigger picture for the world to become a much better place than what it currently was. A world without Shield and more importantly it would be a world without the Avengers.   
  
Hydra would be the face of the new world. A better world. There was no doubt about that.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
“So the woman in the pictures-”  
  
“My wife Laura,” Clint told Steve as he flew the jet to where she and his kids were still living in the home that they had made for themselves just before he had been recruited. “We have two kids. But Laura and I aren’t together anymore. Haven’t been for four years.”  
  
“Why didn’t you just say that back when we were with Tony and Pepper?” Steve asked.  
  
“It was none of his business,” Clint said. “The only ones that knew about Laura was Natasha and Fury. We didn’t go through divorce so that I could still protect her and the kids if something were to happen. We grew apart and we just didn’t want to confuse the kids right away with too many changes.”  
  
“But you still go out on those long missions?” Steve asked.   
  
He was clearly not up to date on how marriage works, not back in the 1940’s and clearly not now. He just wanted to understand what Clint had been hiding and why he would ask Emma to marry him if he were already married to another woman and had kids with her as well.  
  
“I still make time to see them. They are growing up really fast.”  
  
The smile Steve saw on Clint’s face, a real smile. Not the fake ones that he had been feeding to everyone since Emma had left New York City with Pepper.  But when he spoke about his kids the real smile appeared on his face. There was a half smile when he mentioned his wife, but no one had really brought up Emma and what was going to happen if Laura and Emma were to meet.  
  
“Does Emma know?” Steve asked, knowing he needed the answer. Not for himself, but for the girl that he met that had the biggest heartbreak of her life and he had supported her while she waited for her future husband to show. Only he never did. Not until she was ready to leave New York for awhile. “That you have a wife and kids?”  
  
“She knows that I have a past and that will always be part of my life no matter what, but the details of my past?” Clint asked looking at him and then he shook his head. “No, she has no idea of any of this.”  
  
“When we find her again, it might be a good idea to tell her.”  
  
Clint didn’t answer. He didn’t have to. Steve was right about that. Emma needed to know exactly what was going on. With him and his past and what it meant for them. And there was a them because he refused to allow her to walk out of his life as if the past few years meant nothing to either of them.   
  
“We’ll be there in about ten minutes Captain.”  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Sitting at the bar on the beach, Emma watched the sun setting behind the ocean as she drank a vodka and tonic. It wasn’t her normal drink, but this was a new place where she didn’t know anyone and it gave her the opportunity to try something new and maybe even get to know someone new. Friendships were always hard for Emma while growing up, but as soon as she hit high school they became easier. A lot easier. But relationships were always hit and miss. At least they were until Clint came along and swept her off her feet.  Shaking her head, she put those thoughts to the very back of her mind. That was the very last thing that she wanted to think about.  
  
“You don’t look like a native.”  
  
Looking to her right, she saw a man with dark hair and piercing blue eyes looking right at her. His smile wasn’t too bad, but it was nothing compared to Clint’s. Giving him a small smile back, she took a moment to really look him over before she replied. “I’m not. I’m on a getaway. I leave to go home and back to work sooner than I would like to admit to.”  
  
“You picked a nice place to get away to,” he said as he took the stool next to her. “So where are you escaping from?”  
  
“New York City.”  
  
“Boyfriend couldn’t get away to have time away with you?” he asked.  
  
“He’s always working it seems.”  
  
“That’s how my sister’s boyfriend was. But it turned out that the guy was already married and had this family and life no one had a clue about.”  
  
“Sounds complicated.”  
  
“Yeah, she’s always found that she attracted the drama in,” he said with a short laugh as he asked the bartender for another beer. “But she’s gotten better since she left him. And as long as she’s happy, how can I not be happy for her?”  
  
“I suppose that is true.” Emma said as she looked down her empty glass before setting it back onto the bar top. She wasn’t positive if she wanted another drink of if she wanted something else or to just go back to her room for the night.  
  
“Wouldn’t you do that for a brother or sister?” he asked her.  
  
“I don’t have any siblings.”  
  
“Then you will have to take my word for it,” he smiled at her. “How rude of me. I’m Marcus Chase.”  
  
“Emma Winters.”  
  
“It is nice to officially meet you Emma Winters,” he told her. “Now please let me buy you a drink?”  
  
There was something about the look in his eye that Emma wanted to trust. But she had felt that way with Clint and look where that had landed her. On a beautiful island drinking her sorrows away. “Red Bull and vodka.”  
  
“I’ll be right back then.”  
  
Emma watched as he headed towards the bartender and shook hands and it looked like Marcus had slid money and something else into the bartenders hand, but she couldn’t be sure about it. But she did admit that it was odd that he went all the way to the other side of the bar to order drinks when they were seated at the bar already.  
  
It didn’t take long for Marcus to return to where she continued to sit. Part of her wanted to get up and leave, but the other part of her was telling her that there had to be a good explanation as to why he went to the other side of the bar to order drinks. Before she had a chance to ask him, the bartender set her drink in front of her with a smile on his face and then he turned to Marcus and nodded at him as he placed a bottle of beer in front of him. After they thanked him, he walked off.  
  
Raising his bottle, he waited for Emma to do the same. “To new beginnings before getting back to the real world.”  
  
Taking a small sip, Emma realized it didn’t taste any different then when she would order it back in New York at restaurants that she and Clint would go to together. So she took a larger sip and that was when she caught Marcus grinning as if he were the cat that had caught the canary. It made her feel incredibly uneasy. Something wasn’t right and now she could see it as clear as she could see Clint’s face while she slept.  
  
“What did you do?”  
  
“What do you mean Emma?” he asked, taking a large gulp of his beer. He shut his eyes before turning and looking at her again with that smile on his face. “Is something the matter?”  
  
“You had the bartender put something in my drink,” she said, glaring at him as she gripped the glass tightly.  
  
“I don’t know what you mean-”  
  
Before he could finish the sentence, she tossed the drink directly into his eyes and grabbed her clutch and ran. This was the moment that she wished she had kept her cell phone with her. She knew she was in trouble and there was no doubt about it. There was no chance that she would be able to call for help.  
  
When she thought she had gotten far enough away, she leaned against the pillar at the entrance of a hotel. It wasn’t her hotel, but she couldn’t keep up with running. Her head hurt and her vision was starting to blur. Sliding down the pillar, she could hear someone walking up to her, but the darkness consumed her, but not before she heard what the person said.  
  
 _“Hail Hydra.”_  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think!


	8. Chapter 8

As soon as she started to wake up, Emma felt as if she was going to be sick. Her head was hurting and she couldn’t remember how she ended up where she was at. Closing her eyes, she took a few deep breaths before opening her eyes again and trying to sit up. That was when she found out that she couldn’t. Moving her wrists she could hear metal scrapping together. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes again and tried to remember what was going on.  
  
She had been watching the sunset while having a drink when someone had started talking to her. A man. Her eyes shot open as it all came flooding back to her. How could she have been so stupid as to let her guard down? And there was no way of calling Clint or Pepper for help because she left her phone back in California.  
  
Glancing around the room, Emma could hardly see anything. The room was completely dark. There were no windows, so she couldn’t tell if it was night or day. There was a door on the other side of the room and the only way she could actually tell that it was a door was from the light that was filtering in from the very bottom. In her mind, there was absolutely no doubt about it, she was in deep shit and it didn’t look good for her. She could feel her heart beating fast, so she tried to calm herself by thinking of something happier. The first thing that came to mind was Clint.  
  
Oh gosh.  
  
If this was going to be her end, the way she was going to die, no she couldn’t die now. Not now. Not when she finally found her father and a man that she loved more than anything. It was hard to think back to those photos that had arrived for her in Malibu, but maybe whoever had sent them was counting on her jumping to conclusions before talking to Clint or anyone about what the pictures could mean. But she didn’t think things through. Instead, she jumped to what she believed to be the only conclusion and with being so sure that she was right, she fled. And now she didn’t know what would happen to her or to those she cared for.  
  
Moving her wrist to see if there was any possible way to find a way out of her restraints, but it was useless. She was handcuffed to and it didn’t look like there was a way out. She wished that she had paid more attention to when her mother told her that she should look into self defense classes. At the time she blew it off as her mother being worried about her as she moved to New York City for her new job. Closing her eyes, Emma refused to let the tears fall from her eyes. No, she wouldn’t give these people the satisfaction of knowing that she was scared. No, not  scared, she was terrified of what was going to happen to her.  
  
Hearing the door open slightly, Emma looked over to where she heard the noise. She watched as one man entered carrying a chair. After he placed it in the center of the room, he walked over to her. Reaching into his pocket, the man took out a key and undid the handcuff that kept her chained to the bed. After unlocking it, he tightly gripped her upper arm and led her to the chair. Once she was seated on the chair, he put the restraints back on her wrists, but through the back of the chair so there was no chance of an escape. Not that she knew where she was, so even if she wanted to escape, there was no way for her to do it. But more than anything she wanted to go home, she wanted to see Clint and hug him and kiss him and tell him that she was sorry. Taking a deep breath, she watched as the man grinned at her before walking out the door.  
  
Biting down on her lip in fear, she knew that nothing good would ever come out of this. Home felt so far away and so did Clint. Everything was coming back to Clint and how she regretted not sticking around and talking things out with him. And now she didn’t even know if there would be a chance to even see his face again.  
  
It wasn’t long before the door opened once again, but this time Emma recognized the person in front of her. It was the man that had the bartender put something in her drink. He had seemed so nice to her when he struck up a conversation but now he didn’t look anything like the man she met on the beach. Marcus Chase, if that was even his real name.  
  
Maybe now would be the time that she would find out what was going to happen to her and why she was here in the first place. She wasn’t someone that knew any big secrets so if that was the reason she was taken then they were about to be severely disappointed and most likely that anger would be taken out on her.   
  
“Hello Emma.”   
  
She looked at him, but didn’t say anything. There was nothing she could say that would make a difference and she wanted to at least come off as not afraid of him or what ever it was that he had planned for her.  
  
“Do you remember me?” he asked her with a grin that reached all the way to his eyes which told her that he was finding this whole situation amusing. “Or is everything still hazy for you? That is just one of the side affects of that particular drug.”  
  
Again, Emma refused to utter a single word. She would not tell them anything if she could help it. Looking at him, she couldn’t believe how easily she fell for his charms and it made her wonder if she was just an easy target because she didn’t want to see the bad in anyone. Is that how Clint got so close to her without revealing his other family and what he really did for a living?  
  
“Not going to say anything?” he asked her as he looked at her. “That’s alright. I really need you to listen to what I have to say. And listen you should because I would hate for your pretty little face to end up looking, well, not so pretty.”  
  
Listening to him laugh at his pathetic excuse for a threat made Emma want to roll her eyes at him.  
  
“We all know that you are Tony Stark’s only child, his daughter. It doesn’t matter to us that you didn’t know until right before our little experiment.”  
  
That caught Emma’s attention and not in a pleasant way. Her heart plummeted to her stomach. “What experiment?”  
  
“Why the explosions at the charity event, of course,” he boasted. “The timing was perfect and we couldn’t allow the opportunity to pass us by. So many of the Avengers in one place at one time. We had no idea that you would be with one of them or that you were pregnant with his child, but as in war there are always casualties.”  
  
“The world isn’t in a war,” Emma spat at him, disgusted to even be in the presence of this man, if you could really call him that. “And unborn child is never a casualty of war. You killed the child.”  
  
“Think what you will, but what is done is done and if we could go back and change things, we would,” he said and he watched her reaction go from pissed off to that of shock. “Don’t look so surprised. Of course we would want to change things. The next time we won’t get caught and we’d use more explosives.”  
  
This time the only recognition he got out of her was disgust. Emma couldn’t even stand to really look at him. He disgusted her that much. Gosh, she wished that someone knew she was missing so she could get out of this place, wherever this place was. If she ever was to get out of here and live to tell the tale there was one thing that she would do, well maybe a few things, but the main one was to learn out to defend herself and maybe how to get out of situations like this. She also really wanted to talk to Clint and talk with him about everything. There was no point in being angry without knowing all the facts. And the other thing she wanted was to get to know her father. The one that she had barely talked to since she found out who he was to her. She hated that her mother kept it a secret from her for her whole life and didn’t tell her until after she was gone so she couldn’t ask any of the questions that had gone through her mind. Maybe, just maybe Tony could answer her questions, but she wouldn’t know that until she got out of this hell hole.  
  
“We want you to contact your daddy and tell him-”  
  
“Sorry, can’t do that. No phone.”  
  
The pain in the right side of face was throbbing. That was not something she had been expecting. Not at all. Taking a few deep breaths, she waited and then lifted her head and looked at him. “I don’t like to be interrupted,” he told her as he leaned closer. “Don’t do it again.”  
  
Emma didn’t say anything and he took that as a sign that she understood.  
  
“Now, as I was saying,” he started again. “I want you to call Stark and tell him that you want him to hand over the blueprints to his father’s laser blaster.”  
  
“Why would you need something like that for?” Emma asked, although a part of her knew she wouldn’t like the answer to her question.  
  
“That’s something you don’t need to know.”  
  
“I also don’t need to call Tony Stark and ask for what you want. I barely know the man, why would he hand any of that over for me?”  
  
“Because you are his daughter!”  
  
The yelling didn’t scare her, but it made her jump in surprise.  
  
“The life of one or the life of many,” Emma said as she looked at him. “I would pick the life of the many and so would all of the Avengers. I won’t ask him for it. Not for you, not for anyone.”  
  
“You say that now, but we shall see how you feel about that in a few hours after you have a visit from a dear friend of mine.”  
  
With those final words, she watched him walk out of her room. Her prison. Emma knew that this place was going to become her hell and she didn’t even know where she was at. She just wanted to go home. Try as she might there was no way out of this for her and she felt a few tears escape from her eyes. The not knowing thing was the scariest thing she had ever gone through so far and it wasn’t something she wanted to continue with.  
  
 _Three Days Later_  
  
The pain she felt was unlike anything Emma had ever felt before. Every time the door to her prison opened she knew there was going to be more. The first time was her ribs, then they moved to her face. They told her that this was only a small taste of what was to come, but she didn’t know how she could withstand anymore than she already had. But something her mother once told her kept her silent about everything. _As long as there is one person that loves you in your darkest of times, then you have nothing to hide from them. They will come for you, even when you least expect it._ It was that voice that she kept hearing in her head that kept her going. But how would anyone know she was here since she left without letting anyone know where she was going or for how long. And the people here made sure that they brought it up often and how she was the other woman in the relationship with Clint. Something that she never wanted to be and their words were starting to sink in.   
  
All her doubts about what she was to Clint or if he even ever really loved her. Or how he was paid to get close to her and that in truth he already had a family. Someone that loved him and so did his children. Children. It didn’t make sense to her that he would do something like that to her. He was with her as often as he could and he told her that he loved her. But he hadn’t been there when she had gone into surgery after she lost the baby or when she woke up. Clint had never really told her where he had gone that day. Although if she were honest, she didn’t give him the chance. Maybe the reason he hadn’t come for her was because he was with his other family, his real family. But then what about Tony? Surely he wouldn’t want to leave her in the hands of these people.  
  
Hearing the creaky door opening, Emma didn’t bother to look up. She had been sitting in this uncomfortable chair since she woke up handcuffed to the bed in the corner of the room. Instead of just one person to come and try and work her over there were three people that entered the room. Taking a slow and deep breath, she slowly lifted her head and looked at them, but refused to say anything. Just like the past few days, she would not say anything when they came in until the hitting started. It was hard not to cry out in pain, which happened a lot.  
  
This day was different though. Today there were more of them and one walked behind  her to uncuff her hands. Moving them from behind her, she looked down at them. Her wrists were chaffed from her trying to find some kind of way to get out of her restraints, but it was no use since they were using metal handcuffs. That didn’t mean that she would stop trying to get away.  
  
“Stand up.”  
  
Emma glared at him, but didn’t move. It wasn’t that she wanted to, but she hadn’t had anything to eat and very little to drink since she woke up which meant she wasn’t sure if her legs would support her if she got to be dizzy. The man nodded to one of the others and he grabbed her arm and lifted her up so she was standing before the man that seen to most of her beatings. As he stepped forward, it took everything in her not to step backwards into the guard that was tightly gripping her arm. Instead of a slap or a punch, he put a gag into her mouth and tied it.  
  
“Take her to the room. It is time we get what we want.”  
  
They took her from the room and she tried her beset to remember the steps and what everything looked like. If she ever got the chance to get away, then she would need to know where to go. It might not be likely, but she had to try.   
  
It wasn’t a very long trip to the next place they took her to. Only a few minutes of walking. That was one thing she was grateful for since she was starting to feel lightheaded. Emma knew it was from the lack of food in her system. As soon as they were in the room, she noticed how nice it was compared to the dark and cold room she had been forced into.  
  
Shoving her into a chair, her arms were strapped down onto the armrests. Then the gag was removed. “You are a lucky girl. Little you gets to see your family today.”  
  
Emma’s eyes shot up in surprise. Her family? Tony was here? Somewhere? Did that mean she would be getting out of here soon? Back into the world where someone didn’t punch and hit her each day? She didn’t dare get her hopes up for that.   
  
“Make the call.” the man ordered.  
  
That made Emma confused. Did that mean Tony wasn’t actually here? So she wasn’t going home?  
  
It didn’t take long before she saw Tony’s face on the screen along with Clint and Steve Rogers. She had a feeling she would see her father, but the other two were a bit of a surprise to her. Not having seen Clint or Steve since she had fled New York with Pepper and it was hard seeing him now. All she wanted was to run into his arms and ask him to never let her go again.  
  
“As you can see, I was not lying,” the man from earlier said. “And she’ll continue to live as long as you give me those plans of your fathers that we talked about earlier.”  
  
 _“Emma, are you alright?”_  
  
Looking at the screen, she didn’t know what to say. She had so much to say, but she didn’t think that they would really allow her to say what she wanted to. When she didn’t respond to Tony’s question fast enough, one of the guards in the room slammed his fist into the side of her stomach. Crying out in pain, Emma felt her head drop down. It took her awhile to regain her breathing before lifting her head back up again.  
  
“Define alright.”  
  
 _“Em, look at me.”_  
  
Hearing the voice of Clint nearly brought her to tears. She didn’t realize just how much she missed him until she heard him say her name. Looking at the screen, she gave him a pathetic excuse for a smile. It was hard to smile, not just for the pain, but because she was realizing just how scared she was to be in the hands of these people.  
  
“Hi Clint. Did my work call?”  
  
 _“Didn’t you know you are on vacation? In Paris?”_  
  
It took Emma a moment to realize what those words meant. It was a message asking her if she knew if she was in the place where she had run away to.  
  
“That was for a week. I have no more vacation time. They’ll be calling soon.”  
  
“Enough!” the man yelled. “Do we have a deal? Will you give us the blueprints in exchange for your daughter?”  
  
“No! Don’t-”  
  
Feeling the wind being knocked out of her, Emma gasped for breath as she looked up at the screen. She knew that Clint and the rest of them didn’t like seeing anyone being hurt, but these people were making it personal by hurting the daughter of Tony Stark.  
  
 _“I agree. Where would you like to do the exchange?”_  
  
The man grinned and  told him exactly where they would meet and promised that he would have Emma there as well. It was hard for Emma to stay quiet, but she hoped that Tony had some kind of plan. Or one of them did. They couldn’t just give the plans away to these people. Who knew what in the world they would do with it.  
  
“We’ll meet in one hour.”  
  
Ending the call, the man turned to the others. Smiling he nodded to them. “We should get ready for our guest of honor to arrive.”  
 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you are thinking so far!


	9. Chapter 9

“You can’t be serious about giving Hydra any kind of plans.”  
  
Tony Stark closed his eyes and took a deep breath. His daughter, his only child was in danger and he could be the reason she was saved any more beatings at the hands of Hydra. But would she want him to give his enemy something that could be turned into some sort of weapon for the future. Opening his eyes, he looked at the two men who were watching them.  
  
“I’m sorry, what was the question?” He asked as he started walking towards the stairway that would lead him towards his lab, or his playroom as Pepper had been referring to it recently.  
  
Clint glanced at Steve and saw that he wasn’t amused by Tony either. Taking a deep breath so that he didn’t go off on Emma’s father, he turned back to look at Tony. “Are you kidding me? Emma’s life is in the balance and you want to act as if nothing just happened on that screen.”  
  
“Actually something did happen,” Tony said as he kept walking away from them, but he kept talking. “After the explosion I did something that Emma might not like, but right now it happens to be a good thing.”  
  
“What are you talking about?” Steve asked, confusion written across his face as clear as day. “What did you do?”  
  
“While she was in surgery I had the doctor place an implant in her. So I can actually  find her and not give Hydra anything that they actually want.”  
  
“And you are just remembering you did this now?” Clint questioned him as he shook his head. “You couldn’t have shared this information when she fled from your home in Malibu after Hydra lured her away? Did it occur to you that she might have been in real danger before just now?”  
  
“Of course it did, but the implant hasn’t been activated.”  
  
Shaking his head, Clint walked away from Tony before he did something like hit him. Emma might not know him that well just yet, but he knew that she wouldn’t appreciate him starting a fight with her father.   
  
“Okay, so you can use the chip to locate where they’ve taken her and we can go and get her, right?” Steve asked what both he and Barton had been thinking.  
  
“Not only are we going to get her out of there,” Tony said as he smiled at something he was doing. “I am going to give them the plans they think they want.”  
  
“Hydra will turn whatever you give them into something that will kill hundreds if not thousands of people.”  
  
“But if you think you can sleep with that on your conscious, or even if Emma can sleep knowing what it cost. One life over possible millions. That will be on you.” Clint said as he and Steve watched as Tony continued to work on these plans that Hydra wanted.  
  
“Or maybe just a few hundred,” Tony said with a shrug. “Depending on how many Hydra agents there are in the building, just those ones.”  
  
That piqued Clint’s interest, no doubt about it. “What is it that they want?”  
  
“A long range weapon that my father had started designing during the war. Then he realized that it would be worse if it fell into the wrong hands, so he stopped before any real damage could be done with it.”  
  
“So what are you doing with it?” Steve asked, not sure he wanted to know, but he needed to. In case it came down to life and death.  
  
“I’m making it so that no matter what Hydra does these plans will be useless.”  
  
Nodding his head, Clint couldn’t hide the smirk that appeared on his face. When he looked to the other man standing, he saw that Steve approved of the idea as well. A plan that Hydra believed that they thought would be so easy to get was about to get a lot more complicated for them.  
  
“So how do we do this?” Steve asked the question he and Clint had both been thinking.  
  
“Very carefully.” Tony told them, knowing that they were playing a dangerous game with Hydra and his daughter was caught in the middle.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
After seeing her father and Clint on a video call, Emma was taken to another room. It wasn’t the one that she had been staying in since she was taken. This one was similar, but it wasn’t the same. It was smaller and no windows. More than anything Emma felt like she wanted to cry. These people were not someone she wanted to be associated with and whatever they wanted was not something that they should get their hands on. She knew that people would suffer for it and in her heart she hoped that the exchange would never take place. If she had to live in this hell hole for the rest of her life so that these people didn’t get what they wanted, then so be it. She would never be able to live with herself if she was the reason so many people were to die and lose their families. Losing her mother made it clear about how hard it was to live without someone you loved.  
  
Wiping away the tears that threatened to fall down her face, Emma jumped in surprise when she heard the door that connected to the rest of the complex or wherever they were open up and the loud blaring sirens were heard. So her room was also sound proof. Did these people think of everything? Looking at the man who entered, she stood up and crossed her arms over her chest. Something was going on and it seemed like this man and many people here were nervous or scared. Good. They should be.  
  
“Time to go Princess.”  
  
As he took a step towards her, she moved out of his reach. Emma continued to glare at him, but didn’t say a single word. Sure there were things she wanted to ask, but it seemed that she just couldn’t find her voice at that moment. As she looked into his eyes, she could tell that he didn’t like her very much. Had she done something to this man? As far as she knew she had never even met him before this moment. Not giving her another chance to get away from him, the man grabbed her arm tightly.  
  
Once they were out of that room, Emma noticed how everyone was running around like the world was about to end. But maybe for them it was. But that would mean that her father did something to the plans they wanted. If that were so then why was she still in these peoples hands? She just wanted to go home, she wanted to sleep in her own bed and not fear something would happen if she drifted off to sleep for more than a few hours. The curiosity in her finally won out and so she had to speak to the goon who had a death like grip on her arm. “What is going on and where are you taking me?”  
  
“Those pesky Avengers think they are so smart, but they aren’t. We are just another step ahead of them. They want you back more than we realized.”  
  
 _“Well, she is my daughter.”_  
  
Turning around with Emma’s arm still in his grasp, the man looked at the two men that had been behind them, but now stood merely feet away. Tony Stark and Clint Barton stood there and her heart stopped beating for a minute. Did they give these people the plans, but were betrayed? No, she wouldn’t believe that they would do something like that.   
  
_“Hasn’t anyone taught you that it isn’t nice to keep people against their will?”_  
  
Spinning her head quickly, Emma was glad to see Steve there. But it didn’t give her the answer that she wanted to know. Was this part of the exchange they had spoken of or was this an attempt at getting her out of their hands without giving up anything? Emma was hoping beyond a doubt that it was the second option. It was the only one that made her feel any better.   
  
“Don’t give them anything!”  
  
Feeling the fingers digging into her arm, Emma refused to yell or cry out to those who were attempting to save her life. One life was not worth the death of so many.   
  
“Hey douche bag,” Clint said getting the attention of the Hydra agent. “Why don’t you let my girl go?”  
  
“Where are the plans?” he asked, refusing to let his bargaining chip leave his grasp until he had the plans his boss desired.  
  
“You mean the ones you use to wipe out countries on the other side of the world when they piss you off or don’t agree with you?” Tony asked reaching over and taking something from Clint. “I believe this is what you want.”  
  
“Hand it over and you’ll get the girl.”  
  
“Because I trust you with my daughter and this deadly information?” Tony questioned him as if this man thought he were stupid. There was no doubt in his mind that he believed he was smarter than all of the Avengers and not just the ones standing around him that were hell bent on getting Emma out of there safe and alive.  
  
“Don’t do it! I’m begging you Dad!”  
  
It was the first time she had ever used the term. And it wasn’t lost on the one she was addressing or the other two Avengers. It was taking everything in him not to look at his daughter, but Emma could feel the tears coming on. She hadn’t planned on saying that, but at the same time she wouldn’t take it back either. Tony Stark was her father and he was doing what he knew so that she could get out of this place sooner rather than later. But she didn’t want her family to be hurt because they were trying to save her.  
  
“Let her go.”  
  
The tone of voice that came from Clint was one that she had only heard him use once before. It was when he was getting close to his breaking point and anyone on the receiving end had better watch out because you never know how bad it can be. Without thinking it all the way through, Emma put all she had into jabbing her elbow into her captor’s stomach. Instead of releasing her like she had hoped he would, his grip was getting worse. She was tired, tired of being in the presence of these horrible people, tired of wanting to go home, and tired of not being able to do anything to help herself out of this situation.  
  
“You little-”  
  
“Hey!”   
  
The voice had come from both directions. It would seem that both Steve and Clint took an exception to what he was about to say. But then a grin that some might call sinister broke out across his face. With a hard shove, Emma went flying right into a partially opened door. And as soon as she made contact with it, she had felt a pain in her head before she collapsed onto the floor.  
  
“Emma!”  
  
She could hear someone calling her name, but it was hard to make out who it was. Opening her eyes slightly, she saw Clint’s eyes filled with concern as he looked down at her. “Emma, baby, I need you to keep your eyes open. Can you do that for me?”  
  
Hearing the concern lacing his voice, Emma tried to keep her eyes open, but it was a battle to do so. “I should have talked it over with you…”  
  
“Hey now,” Clint said putting a fake smile on his face for her. “We have plenty of time to talk it over. I will explain everything to you. I promise, but you have to stay awake. Can you do that, Em?”  
  
“My head hurts,” she said softly as she took a deep breath and then released it. “I’m really tired.”  
  
Looking up, he saw that Steve and Tony had the man under control. Looking down, he could see the blood coming down the side of her face. He tried to remind himself that head wounds tended to bleed more than other ones, but it didn’t stop the bad feeling in his stomach. “Em? Hey, Em, don’t fall asleep on me now. Stay awake, okay?”  
  
“I’m sorry Clint.”  
  
With the softly spoken words, he almost didn’t hear, Emma’s eyes closed and everything turned into darkness for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts?


	10. Chapter 10

_Beep._  
  
 _Beep._  
  
 _Beep._  
  
Blinking her eyes, Emma could faintly see light from the slits of her eyes that were opened. That was different from where she had spent most of her time since she had been taken against her will. Rolling her head to the side, she opened her eyes up a little more and that was when she realized that she was no longer with Hydra. Did that mean she was finally free?  
  
“Em?”  
  
Hearing the voice that she had wanted to hear since she had left New York, she rolled her head to the side and opened her eyes slightly and then closed them so her eyes could adjust to the brightness of the room. But it seemed that her body had a different idea. It didn’t care that she didn’t want to go back to sleep, she wanted to see if she was finally away from the people that had been nothing but cruel to her since they took her from Hawaii. They wanted answers from her, but how could she give them answers to things that she knew nothing about?   
  
Emma could hear voices around her, but she was just too tired to open her eyes again. Maybe after a small rest it would be easier to wake up and talk to whoever was watching over her. She knew she owed thanks to those who got her out of the hell she had been kept for who knows how long.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
“Em?”  
  
Clint looked right into her eyes before she closed them again. He knew the doctor said that she needed rest to regain her strength. It didn’t take a genius to tell that she had been through hell while with Hydra. If the bruises on her face didn’t tell the story of her time with them, the way they had treated her when they were attempting to make a deal with her father was all they needed to know. He knew that he had done wrong by not telling Emma everything when he started to have feelings for her, but with any luck she would let him tell her everything.  
  
“Any change?”  
  
Lifting his head, Clint looked at Tony as he walked in with a huge stuffed penguin and flowers. Shaking his head, Clint knew Tony liked to  go all out, but he wasn’t sure why he would do it in the hospital. Usually he saved that type of thing for private, but who was he to tell him what he should or shouldn’t get for his only daughter?  
  
“She opened her eyes and looked at me for a moment before she fell back to sleep. Doctor says its normal since she’s recovering from everything.”  
  
“And you?” Tony asked, noticing he was still in the same outfit that he had been wearing when they brought Emma to the hospital after getting away from Hydra.  
  
“What about me?”  
  
“When was the last time you showered or even changed clothes?” Tony questioned him. “Or left this room?”  
  
“I’m not leaving her,” Clint said as he laced his fingers into her hand that didn’t have any needles in it. The last thing he wanted was to cause her any unnecessary pain. He couldn’t just leave and there be a chance that she wake up and he wasn’t here for her. There was no way he could do that again. “I can’t leave her.”  
  
“Being your friend, I wasn’t going to say anything, but the nurses are commenting on the stench they smell each time they come into the room to check on Emma.”  
  
Shaking his head, Clint couldn’t even find it in himself to smile at the statement. Was he friends with Tony Stark? That he wasn’t so sure about. Sure he loved Tony Stark’s daughter, but that didn’t mean that he was going to be best friends with the man. More often than not he was annoyed by the billionaire. But for Emma he would do just about anything. He owed her a huge explanation of who he truly was. No lies, no hiding the truth from her any longer. Knowing that he had to tell her about his wife and kids and honestly he wasn’t sure how she would react. Anyone would take that badly, especially since he hid it from her and the fact that he had proposed probably would confuse her.   
  
Clint Barton though was not someone who would give up easy. Not when it came to his heart and that was what Emma was to him. Emma Stark was his heart and there was no doubt about it. He just needed to prove it to her once again and if it took a long time to earn her forgiveness then it would be worth it because she was worth it. Emma was worth everything to him, she was everything he ever wanted.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
One week passed. And then another and Emma still hadn’t woken up. Instead of improving from the injuries that she had sustained from her imprisonment with Hydra, she had started to go downhill. The first week she was doing good according to the doctor, but during the second week something had changed and the alarms were going off on the machines that were hooked up to her.   
  
The hardest part was being kicked out of the room by the doctor and not knowing what was going on. Time seemed to pass slowly for Clint and the moment that he was allowed to resume his spot at Emma’s side that was exactly what he did. They had taken her upstairs and into emergency surgery. The doctor said that there was some extra internal bleeding, but they were able to catch it in time and there shouldn’t be any more set backs to her recovery. But the question on everyone’s mind as they came and went was why was she still not waking up?  
  
Slipping back into the uncomfortable chair the hospital provided in Emma’s room, Clint sighed knowing this chair was not helping his back what so ever. But he wasn’t about to complain about it because he was with Emma even if she didn’t know it. He hoped that she knew, but the doctor had told them that talking could help. So he knew Tony told her about his time with her mother before they split, Steve told her about his friend Bucky who had died in World War II and also how life was before he was unfrozen. To his surprise Natasha had also talked to her, sometimes in Russian, but about how she needed to wake up because there were a lot of people that wanted to talk to her and have an actual conversation.   
  
Raising her hand to his lips, Clint placed a soft kiss on the back of her hand just like he did each time he sat with her. “Hey beautiful. So today marks the one month anniversary of us getting you away from Hydra and you not opening those beautiful eyes of yours. I miss seeing that color of hazel. I really miss you if you want me to be honest.”  
  
Shaking his head he used his free hand to rub his closed eyes before looking over at her again. The only thing that kept him coming back was so he could be here when she woke up and so he could watch her chest rise and fall with each breath she took. With every breath he took, he knew he had to do better by Emma. She not only needed to know what was really going on, but she deserved to hear about it from his own mouth and in his own words.  
  
“Do you remember when we had been dating about a year? And we had that really big fight? You thought I didn’t want to move in with you because you believed that I wasn’t ready to commit to you, but I never told you the truth. I had been looking for a way to bring it up to you myself for the last month, but you were so busy at the hospital and then you were so tired afterwards that I didn’t want to pile more stuff on top of that,” he admitted. “And when your mom got sick, I knew I had to man up and let you know in the easiest way possible that I might live with you in your apartment and I would pay for things, but it would still be your apartment. And when you walked out on me I didn’t know what to think.”  
  
Trying to hold in the laugh, he squeezed her hand. “You were so mad at me for that and I couldn’t figure out for the life of me why. So when I realized it was raining and you probably walked down to that little coffee shop on the corner, I got my car and drove by waiting for you to come out. I know I was an ass to make you think that I was just going to look at you and drive by, but you should have known that I love you too much to ever do such a thing.”  
  
Using his free hand he ran his knuckles over the soft skin upon her cheek. “Em, I really need you to wake up. Nothing is making any sense here and I need to talk to you about something. Something important. Please. I know I haven’t said it enough, but I love you Emma and I need you. Please…please wake up.”  
  
“Does begging usually help?”  
  
Snapping his head up at the new voice from the entry way of the private room had caught Clint off guard. There stood his wife, in name only. He had rarely seen her and she had never come into Emma’s room before. Refusing to let go of Emma’s hand, he just stared at her. When Clint didn’t say anything, Laura walked further into the large hospital room. “I never really thought you would be sitting here all day long.”  
  
“Where else would I be?”  
  
“I remember a time where you would hardly leave my side. Back when you looked at me like you look at her.”  
  
“Laura…” Clint sighed. “Is this really what you want to talk about?”  
  
“Not once did you ever tell me about her and I’ve told you about my relationships.”  
  
“You mean the one you’ve had since we decided that it wasn’t working out between us? Laura my fiancée is laying in a hospital bed and hasn’t woken up. Can we talk about this later?”  
  
“I just don’t understand,” Laura said ignoring what he had called Emma. “How you can go from loving me so much to her. We are nothing alike.”  
  
Placing another kiss on the back of Emma’s hand he smiled at her before turning to look at the mother of his children. “We were young when we got together and as we grew up we tried to deny that we wanted different things, but after we lost the baby I knew things had to change. I wasn’t happy and neither were you.”  
  
“I was trying to be.”  
  
“It wasn’t working and it wasn’t going to because I was done trying to be perfect when I couldn’t do it anymore.”  
  
“You seem at ease with her,” Laura said as she looked at their laced hands. “Like it comes second nature to you to be with her.”  
  
“Laura I really don’t want to do this here,” he told her. “This is a place for healing not hashing out how you feel about the situation.”  
  
“This seems to be a fine spot since it has been the only one where anyone can find you. You don’t even answer your phone anymore.”  
  
“I left it at Stark Tower,” Clint informed her. “Tony said Pepper will be stopping by to see Emma and will give it to me then. I just can’t believe you have the nerve to come and lay all this on me when she’s laying in a hospital bed. I’m sorry if you are hurt Laura, but we’ve been done for years and it will stay that way. I can’t force myself to love you like I love Emma.”  
  
“I know, I do,” Laura said as she ran a hand through her light brown hair. “I just miss having you around. I miss your friendship as well.”  
  
Before he could say anything Laura held up her hand to stop him from saying anything. “Wait, just wait. I know it was selfish of me to come here right now and lay all this on you and part of me just wanted to see you with her. It wasn’t real that you moved on until I could see it with my own eyes. But I can’t lie and say that a part of me doesn’t want you back but the other part is truly happy for you Clint. I really do hope you’ll both be happy together.”  
  
Letting her words sink in, he looked at her in confusion. “What are you saying Laura?”  
  
“I’m ready to let go and to do that we need to get a divorce. On paper. It will be the best for you two, but also me too.”  
  
“Thank you.”  
  
The moment with his soon to be official ex-wife was short lived as he felt something or rather someone gripping onto his hand as hard as they could. Looking down at Emma, he saw that her face was all scrunched up as if she were in pain and he hated knowing that she was feeling that way.  
  
“Is she-”  
  
“I think she might be waking up. Can you-”  
  
“I’ll grab a doctor.”  
  
“Hey, Em. I think you’ve slept long enough. Can you open your eyes for me?”  
  
Although there no response, her hand had not loosened up at all.   
  
“How about I make you a deal?” Clint asked, softly. “You wake up now and you get to pick the next movie for movie night as well as dinner and dessert.”  
  
“Be prepared for _A Walk To Remember_.”   
  
Emma’s voice was dry and scratchy, but Clint couldn’t move as he stared into her beautiful hazel eyes. It had been too long since he had seen any life in them and it did his heart some good to see her finally awake. Maybe now things would start going in the right direction, for him, for them.   
  
“Welcome back Emma.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts?


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This hasn't been my favorite chapter. In my opinion it just isn't that great, but I'm posting it anyways. I hope you think I'm wrong on this and like it still.

If she had to look at the same four walls of this hospital, Emma knew she would go crazy. She understood that she went through a traumatic experience and it was not something she wanted to talk to with anyone at the hospital. She just wanted to go home or somewhere that wouldn’t treat her as if she was made of porcelain and would break if there was a misstep and fell. She was human and she was a lot tougher than people were giving her credit for. It had been a month since she had woken up and since then there was always someone visiting her or sitting in the room when she woke up from sleeping. The only time she was truly alone was when she was in the bathroom and even then if Clint was around he would ask if she needed help with something. Even if she did need help, she wouldn’t ask for it. The one thing she had been asking the whole time she was awake was when would she would be able to get out of here, and finally she was able to have an answer.   
  
_“How much longer do I have to suffer in this place?” Emma asked looking at the private doctor that Tony had hired to watch over her care._  
  
 _“Eager to leave are we?”_  
  
 _“More than eager.”_  
  
 _“Well, I was just looking at your latest blood work and scans so if everything keeps healing the way you have been since you woke up, I would say in another four days you can leave as long as you have someone staying with you just in case something happens.”_  
  
 _“Like anyone would let me leave here on my own, let alone stay by myself.”_  
  
 _“Is that a bad thing?” he questioned her._  
  
 _“Maybe I need some alone time. Just me and my thoughts and not these walls of a hospital.”_  
  
 _“I understand.”_  
  
 _“No, I don’t think that you do.”_  
  
After another few weeks, Emma was happy to be leaving the hospital. Although she wouldn’t be going back to work until she was completely healed, she was just glad that she wouldn’t have to be there. When she was asked who was going to take her home her first thought had been Clint, but she wasn’t sure she wanted that at the moment. Tony had offered her a place and all the care in the world, but she didn’t really know the man that well. If Pepper had been around she would have said yes to her since while she was getting away from everyone she had gotten to know the man her father was in love with. But she hadn’t been there, and the only other person that she got to know while Clint was away had been Steve Rogers. And so when she asked him if he would take her from the hospital to her home, she was worried that he would say no. But he didn’t. And for that she was grateful. She didn’t need the drama with everything that had happened recently. Everything that happened was filled to the brim with drama and at work she was used to it, but in her personal life, she just wanted to curl up and wish that none of this was happening.  
  
“You didn’t have to walk me all the way to the door.” Emma told him with a small smile.  
  
“I know that it doesn’t happen a lot these days, but in my day it was something that we did because it was courteous.”  
  
“I wish that was something that was practiced more these days. We might have advanced with certain things, but manners isn’t one of them. If anything we’ve gone backwards with that.”  
  
“When I woke up I expected things to be the same. That the people who I had been fighting in the war with would be there. But I lost everyone I knew.”  
  
“I can’t say that I know how that feels,” Emma said as they reached her door. “When I lost my mom I was so glad that I had Clint to get through it. It had always been me and my mom. But when I met Clint everything seemed so easy.”  
  
“So your mom liked him?”  
  
Emma gave him a smile and nodded her head. “She loved him. Before she died she believed that he was everything that I could have ever wanted. I guess she didn’t know him well enough.”  
  
That was something Steve didn’t know how to react to. The whole Clint and Emma situation was difficult on its own, but throwing in the fact that Clint had a wife and kids that no one knew about was hard to understand. But Emma wasn’t at fault with that. She had refused to talk to Clint about it or anyone for that matter.   
  
Spinning towards the door, Emma put her key into the lock and turned it only to find that it was already unlocked. The only person besides herself that had a key was Clint. Taking a deep breath, she walked inside. Steve could sense that something wasn’t quite right and so he followed her inside the apartment. It didn’t take either one of them long before they found the intruder. Clint Barton was sitting on the couch as if nothing had happened between him and Emma.  
  
“You have some nerve coming here-”  
  
“You didn’t tell me that they were releasing you today.”  
  
Taking a deep breath, Emma closed her eyes and counted to ten in her head before opening her eyes and looked at the man who still had the ability to render her speechless. Unfortunately at the same time that he made her speechless he was still breaking her heart. It wasn’t that long ago she found out while she had been with him in every sense of the word he had been married with kids. That made her the other woman. Knowing that made her see red, so she took a deep breath before she did something that she would regret later on.  
  
“Shouldn’t you be with your wife and kids?” Emma asked, looking at him.  
  
“Emma, please-”  
  
Turning around she saw Steve was still with her. She knew that Clint would never put a hand on her, but it was nice to see that she had someone else looking out for her. It wasn’t just her that noticed Steve’s presence as well. Clint’s eyes left her and landed on his friend. His face was masked and usually Emma could figure out what he was thinking or feeling, but at that moment she was clueless.  
  
“Captain.”  
  
“Barton.”  
  
“I need to talk to Emma. Alone.”  
  
“Emma?” Steve asked, looking at the woman who he wasn’t sure he should leave just now. There had been a reason she hadn’t told Clint she was being discharged from the hospital and it made him unsure if he should leave her with him.  
  
Nodding her head, letting him know that she would be okay, Emma crossed her arms in front of her chest. That was when she glanced into the kitchen and saw a brand new vase with red roses and white tulips inside. She loved flowers even though she didn’t receive them very often. Emma knew enough that the red roses meant love and the white tulips represented forgiveness. Hearing the door shut, brought her out of her thoughts and she looked at Clint.  
  
“What do you want?” Emma asked, wanting him gone as soon as possible. She knew she needed to be resting and having him here was not going to help her in the least. Looking at him watching her and not saying anything was not something she had the time for. “Either tell me what you want to say and leave or just leave. I don’t have the time for this right now.”  
  
“I’m sorry,” Clint said as he finally found his voice. “I should have told you about Laura and the situation with that.”  
  
“Why didn’t you?” Emma asked, watching him from a distance. “Does everything with you have to involve secrets?”  
  
“I didn’t know how to tell you,” he admitted as he shook his head. “I was wrong and I know that.”  
  
“Were you ever going to tell me?” Emma inquired. “You can’t marry me when you already have a wife.”  
  
Nodding his head, he took a few steps towards her and yet she held her ground. “There is a lot we should talk about, things that you need to know.”  
  
“Like how in the four years we have been together you not once thought to mention that you were married or that you had kids?”  
  
She knew that her anger was getting the better of her and that she should walk away to calm down, but she doubted that was going to happen. Knowing Clint like she did, there was no way he wouldn’t follow her where she went. It was best to keep this conversation to the apartment and between them. But at the same time she wished she didn’t have to have the conversation in the first place.  
  
When he still didn’t say anything, she controlled the urge to roll her eyes at how stubborn he was acting. But she knew this about him, it was one of the things that made her fall in love with him. Dropping her arms, she ran one hand through her hair. She wasn’t the guilty party, no that was all on him. He was the one with the secrets and the family that was hidden away. The more she thought about it the more it made her sick. She was the other woman, something that she despised more than words could express.  
  
“I am so sick of everyone knowing something about our situation and I’m left in the dark. If you have any kind of feeling for me at all, please stop with all these secrets,” Emma said as she finally broke the silence. “I am sick and tired of secrets. Please Clint.”  
  
“And if it happens to be something that you don’t want to hear?” he asked meeting her gaze and not looking away.  
  
“Then tell me anyway. I think after everything I’ve been through lately that this is the least you can do,” Emma sighed. “I need these answers before I go crazy. Please.”  
  
Nodding his head, he motioned to the couch requesting her to sit down. Watching as he sat down on the couch, she opted for the armchair that was a few feet away from him. Emma knew she couldn’t handle listening to what he had to say with the distraction of his hand on her in any possible way.  
  
Watching him as he took his own seat she waited for him to start, but it looked like he was struggling with finding the words. She didn’t want this to go on and on, but Emma knew if she wanted the truth in full, then she had to be patient and let him start talking.  
  
“Do you remember how we met?” he finally asked.  
  
Confused as to why he was starting with that, she nodded her head. “I had a bad day in the ER and got drunk and we had a one night stand.”  
  
“I wasn’t there by accident. The Director told me that I needed-”  
  
“Director of what?” Emma asked interrupting him.  
  
“Director Fury is the Director of SHIELD.”  
  
“And that’s where you actually work?” Emma questioned him before asking another one. “What is SHIELD?”  
  
“Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division.”  
  
“Is that supposed to mean something to me?” Emma asked, confused.  
  
“They are the good guys, the ones that have been working a long time at finding Hydra and putting them down before they do bad stuff.”  
  
“Well they aren’t doing a very good job of it,” she told him. “So you work for them and this Director wanted you to what? Follow me or something? Why?”  
  
“They knew you were Tony Stark’s daughter.”  
  
Unable to keep the surprise off her face, Emma decided against saying anything until she thought about what she really wanted to say. How could these people know who she was before she even knew it? So did that mean Clint knew before she had told him? Or had be told them who she was and so that made them want to know more? No he couldn’t have told them because she didn’t know until recently and he had been pretending to love her for the last four years. Shaking her head, she looked at him and took a deep breath before asking the one thing she needed to know after hearing that. “Why? If they already knew then why have you spy on me?”  
  
“Director Fury wanted to know if you were a loose cannon  like your father.”  
  
“And you had to sleep with me for four years to figure that out?”  
  
Clint let out a chuckle before looking into her serious eyes. “SHIELD requires many things from me. That was never one of them. I knew after our first encounter that you weren’t like him or a danger to anyone, well anyone but me.”  
  
“You?” Emma asked, unsettled by the tone of his voice.  
  
“Couldn’t you tell?” he asked her. “After our first meeting and our night together, I was falling for you. It took everything within me not to tell you everything after just a month of being with you.”  
  
“Why didn’t you?”  
  
“I didn’t want to put you in any danger. We believed that if you were aware of your connection with Stark then you would tell people and you never know who might hear it and the last thing we wanted was for Hydra to get their hands on you.”  
  
“I’ve felt their hospitality,” Emma said dryly. “Have you?”  
  
“Every moment that you were there it felt like I was never going to see you again.”  
  
“Would it have mattered that much? If they killed me? I mean lets be real, I’m the other woman to you. You Clint Barton have a wife and two kids. That is what I want to hear you explain.”  
  
Nodding his head, he knew he wouldn’t be able to keep it from her forever, but at the same time, he wasn’t ready to share his life with Emma with Laura. He knew that was bound to happen once the story came out, but if he wanted a chance to make things work with Emma then he needed to tell her everything that she wanted to know. And he meant everything.  
  
“When I was recruited by Coulson-”  
  
“Whose that?”  
  
“A really great agent,” Clint said remembering the man that was no longer with them because a demigod believed that Earth needed to be ruled over. “He died in the line of duty.”  
  
“I’m sorry.”  
  
Clint nodded his head knowing that she truly meant what she was saying. Scratching the back of his head, he took a breath as he closed his eyes and then let it out. Opening his eyes slowly he shook his head. He knew it would be hard telling her everything and yet it was feeling harder and harder by each word he said.  
  
“It was agreed upon that Laura would be kept off the records along with the farm. When she was pregnant with out third child, she miscarried. Everything after that kinda went downhill after that. My missions were getting longer and the time off was shorter.”  
  
“The mission on me?”  
  
“I had a few missions going on around  the time I was assigned to yours. Laura had been pushing me away for awhile and then things with us just took off and I couldn’t deny my feelings for you. It was the first time since before she lost the baby that I felt that I had a reason to smile again. Because of you.”  
  
“I’m not sure what to say to that.”  
  
“Emma, I’m not blaming you for any of this. What happened between me and Laura that was between us, it had nothing to do with you.”  
  
“You were the one that brought me into it!” Emma said as she finally raised her voice at him.  
  
Shaking her head, Emma knew she couldn’t sit down any longer. Getting up she walked towards the kitchen and that was when her eyes landed on the flowers. There was a lot more that Clint had to say and she knew it, but she felt as if her head was going to explode.  
  
“Emma I know-”  
  
“You don’t know anything Clint! I feel like such an idiot and I should. I let you in and you were perfect. You fooled me and you fooled my mother. She would turn in her grave if she knew who you really are. And right now I just can’t deal with all of this. It’s too much.”  
  
“Please listen-”  
  
He didn’t get a chance to finish his sentence because she grabbed the vase he had brought over and threw it right at him. The glass vase shattered into a million pieces and the flowers lay in the water on the floor and for once she didn’t care at all. Feeling the tears in her eyes, she refused to let him see her cry. He was the reason, but she still didn’t want him to see her cry. So Emma did the one thing she was getting pretty good at. She ran. Grabbing her purse, she opened the door and slammed it shut behind her. When she got to a place where she thought it was safe she let the tears fall freely.  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts?


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry that it has taken me so long to update this. Lots of things have happened, but yay for an update!

Sitting down in the grass looking at her mother’s headstone wasn’t where she pictured herself. Crying to her dead mother wasn’t the proudest moment of her life either. All she knew was that she had to get away, away from Clint and away from the memories of the two of them in that apartment. Sure she was supposed to have someone with her to make sure that she was alright, but she could tell she wasn’t. Her head was hurting and her heart was as well. Ever since the explosion things seemed to happen really fast. Faster than she could process things. That was how she found herself in a light rain as she watched the rain splatter on the headstone of where her mother was buried. Not caring that she was going to be soaked, she kneeled down and sat back and looked at the headstone.  
  
“Hi,” she said softly, her voice barely above a whisper as she slowly stopped crying. “I really wish you were here. You were always so good at guiding me when I didn’t know where to turn.”  
  
Taking a deep and calming breath, she put her hand to her forehead as she waited a moment before continuing. “Ever since I lost you things haven’t been the same. Clint was there for me. But everything with him has been a lie. It was his job to get close to me because someone found out who my father really was. He was spying on me and I just don’t know if I can believe that he felt anything for me. Clint Barton is a spy. And the part that hurts the most is that he proposed to me and I told him yes. I love him and he didn’t even tell me that he has another family.”  
  
“I would have told you,” a voice said from behind her. “I just wanted to spare you the pain of that drama.”  
  
“Go away,” Running her hands through her wet hair, she didn’t want to look at him. Looking at him just brought more pain that she couldn’t make disappear. No matter what she said she knew the truth and that was that she still loved him. Taking a deep breath and then another, she stood up and faced him. She knew that she couldn’t hide from him, he would just track her down and find her eventually. “Were you ever going to tell me?”  
  
“I had planned on telling you after I asked you to marry me,” he told her honestly. “I didn’t want that secret to be between us. I didn’t tell you about Laura and the kids only for their safety. With what I do I couldn’t take a chance with someone getting to them and wanting to hurt them because of what I do.”  
  
“Were you ever security?” Emma asked him, needing to know the truth as badly as she needed to breathe. “Or was that all a lie? Did you even want a nine to five job?”  
  
“You don’t even have a nine to five job.” Clint said pointing out the small fact.  
  
“Answer the question!” she said raising her voice slightly, before lowering it again. “Please.”  
  
“No,” he said looking at her. He could see that she was hurting and that killed him, but she needed to know the truth before someone else tried to use her to get what they wanted. He would lay his life down if it ever came to that. “It was never an option for me.”  
  
“Why couldn’t you be honest from the start? You are always saying you love me and that you care, but if you really did, then why continue the lie?”  
  
“Because your mother asked me to.”  
  
“You are a liar!” she yelled at him. “My mother wouldn’t keep something like that from me.”  
  
“She saw me with Natasha and I had to explain myself and your mother was a hard person to fool and so I didn’t bother. I told her who I was and who I worked for. The only reason she allowed me to be with you still was because I didn’t lie when I told her that I was in love with you.”  
  
“Did you tell her about the family that you already had? Because there is no way in hell she would have wanted me to be the other woman in a relationship no matter if I loved you or not!”  
  
“She didn’t know about Laura or the kids,” Clint told her as he walked closer to her. “All she knew was that I wasn’t who I was portraying.”  
  
“Was it worth it all?” Emma asked him. “Having me run away from you, having me lose our baby? Where does the lying end Clint?”  
  
“Emma…”  
  
“Please,” she said, her  voice breaking as she put her hand up to block him from coming any closer to her. She knew if he wrapped his arms around her that she would just give in and that was something she needed to avoid at all costs. “Just leave.”  
  
“No,” he told her. “I would give you the world if you asked for it, but asking me to leave and telling me important information and not giving me a chance to process? That shit stops now Emma. I love you and I’m not stopping anytime soon so you are going to have to deal with it.”  
  
Looking at him in the eyes, Emma knew this was the Clint that she had fallen in love with. Stepping towards him, she watched his reaction before taking a few more steps until she reached where he stood. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she just held onto him as she cried. Feeling him wrap his arms around her felt as if all her worries could float right out of her.  
  


* * *

  
Waking up, Emma slowly opened her eyes and took in her surroundings. She wasn’t home, no this was definitely not her home or any place she had been to in the last few months. Taking a deep breath, she stretched out before finally sitting up. Looking down at herself, she noticed that she wasn’t in the clothes she left the hospital in. Instead she was wearing a pair of sweats and an old shirt that belonged to Clint. This must be one of his little hiding places that he used while doing his job and watching her to make sure she wasn’t a threat. That was just something she couldn’t wrap her head around.   
  
Her job was to help save people, not to harm someone. It did make her curious how someone could think that she was capable of helping those that worked for Hydra. Especially after what she went through. Running her hand through her hair, it was dry, which meant she had been asleep for awhile. Looking around the room, it seemed like she was alone, but she knew better. Clint didn’t take chances like that, especially if he wanted to talk to her about something as important as this.  
  
Slipping out of  the bed, she opened a door that she hoped would lead to the bathroom. Grinning when she was right, she went in and closed the door to do her business. When she walked back in, she jumped back in surprise when she saw Clint sitting on the end of the bed.  
  
“Do you ever make a noise?”  
  
Grinning, he took in her appearance. “How do you feel?”  
  
“How long did I sleep for?” Emma asked, ignoring his question.  
  
“Sixteen hours,” Clint told her. “The doctor said it was normal. It was your body’s way of telling you that everything was catching up and you needed the rest.”  
  
“Where are we?”  
  
“One of Natasha’s hideouts. Completely safe,” he assured her. “And no one knows we are here.”  
  
“No one?”  
  
“That’s right,” Clint assured her. “I didn’t think we should have this talk in front of everyone else.”  
  
“You think we still have something to talk about?” Emma asked, curiously. “I think that it is time to put all of this behind us. There is no point and no reason to talk about anything.”  
  
“I know that I messed up,” he told her running a hand through his hair as he looked back at her. “But we deserve it to each other to figure out if not being together is what we really want.”  
  
“If?” Emma questioned him as she sent a glare his way. “I just went through hell because I wasn’t told the truth from the start of everything! And I can’t even go to the one person that I desperately want to talk to because she died and I can’t even be upset with her. But I can be with you because since we first met you’ve been lying to me!”  
  
“I was trying to protect you!”  
  
“From what!?” Emma asked, her voice rising as her emotions started to poke through.  
  
“From what you went through!” Clint yelled, his frustration clear as day. “I never wanted Hydra to find you or for you to lose our baby or to have you go through so much in such a short amount of time. Most of all, I didn’t want you to stop trusting me.”  
  
Taking a deep, breath neither one of them knew what to say after that. Slowly walking over to the chair that was in the corner of the room, Emma sat down. She knew she couldn’t sit down on the bed with him so close and still think clearly. Looking down at her hands, she knew that he wasn’t at fault for the stuff she went through. The blame was at least partially on her. She ran away and didn’t tell anyone where she had gone or anything.  
  
Wiping away the tear that had escaped her eye, she looked at him. This was not the same Clint that she had been with. Everything that she had gone through and taken a toll on him as well as her.  
  
“How did you know where exactly I would be?” Emma asked, her voice barely above a whisper.  
  
“After that explosion, Tony had the doctors put a tracking device in you. We didn’t know about it, so when we got you back I made sure they took it out. He never should have done that. But Tony Stark doesn’t think like normal people do.”  
  
Biting down on her lip, Emma nodded her head in understanding. As she was thinking of something else to ask him there was a knock on the door. Her eyes shot right to Clint and he could see the fear in them. Fear that someone had found them. Someone like Hydra. He hated that she felt that way.  
  
“Natasha is here,” he told her as he slowly rose up from his spot on the bed. “He brought someone that I believe can clear up things. She can explain things better than I have been. I just hope you’ll listen.”  
  
“Natasha is your friend?” Emma asked as she walked behind him as he made his way towards the door. “I met her before the explosion.”  
  
“She’s just dropping someone off,” Clint told her. “Just promise me something.”  
  
“Depends on what it is.”  
  
“Just try and keep an open mind to everything,” he requested. “For me, but more importantly, for you.”  
  
Nodding her head, Emma went to sit down on the couch in the living room area while he finally opened the door as they knocked again this time louder than the first.  
  
Without even needing to say anything, Emma just knew what ever was going to happen right now with whoever was coming to talk to her was going to be draining. More so on the emotional side since she had yet to really deal with some of the things that happened to her. Steve offered his ear, but she couldn’t do that to him. It was sweet of him to offer that, but he was her friend and she did not want to burden him that way. Technically she could have asked one of the staff members at the hospital to have the shrink that was there come up so she could talk to them, but she doubted that whoever the Avengers took orders from would appreciate her blabbing what she had gone through to someone that they hadn’t approved of.  
  
Hearing the door close, Emma took a deep breath. Instead of looking at the person that was walking into the room with Clint, she stared at her hands. She was nervous, but she couldn’t understand why. This person could give her insight, but she didn’t make the decision if she wanted to stay with Clint or break free and start all over in a city that didn’t hold so many memories.  
  
“Emma, I would like you to meet Laura,” Clint said and no one missed how Emma’s head snapped up at the name. This was the woman Clint hadn’t told her about and now she was in the same room as her. “Laura, this Emma. Hopefully my fiancée still.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think!

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think!


End file.
